Redemption
by keyboardcat324
Summary: This is the story of a Hero and a Villain, but it isn't your typical heroic story. As history is meant to be made, a friendship is struck. Will this friendship flounder, or become something possibly more? With enemies lying in the corners and Death following just a few steps behind them, can the odd pair stick together till the end? Or will Death take its toll?...
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Hiya! This is my first fic... I've written stories before, so I'm not shy when it comes to sharing my stories!  
But still...I hope you all like it! :)  
**

**_Warning: this story will contain yaoi in future chapters, just a_****_ warning.._**

**But for now, it only has mild amounts of language :)**

**Enjoy! Review please :D It'll make me totally motivated to write more if you all like it...**

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"I seriously can't stand this shit any longer…"

I angrily kicked a large can, and sent it flying across the rocky gravel. Meanwhile, my darker counterpart was lazing back upon a large crate, tilting it back and rocking nonchalantly back and forth picking at his nails. I glared at his peaceful and carefree demeanor at a time like this. Did this really mean nothing to him? I had saved his sorry ass from that damned temple and all I receive is…

THIS?

Before I could think of doing anything more reckless than kicking a helpless rusted can, he sighed and let the box flop back to its original state. He flipped his hair back and huffed in annoyance, letting the sigh drag out for what seemed like ages. Finally, he let his blood-red eyes travel up the length of my body and stare me right in the face. I shivered from the feeling of being stared down. Perhaps throwing temper tantrums wasn't my best option…

"Dearly beloved Hero, do you really think kicking cans and crying over lost time is going to speed up this process? Wounds are wounds, and they need to be healed. We're also broke, and I honestly can say I don't feel like meandering around any longer. This ranch has everything we need." He sighed again and leaned back, letting his charcoal black hair fall over his eyes.

I huffed and leaned up against the edge of the barn. We had come to Lon-Lon Ranch for supplies, but alas, Malon was out, and it was impossible to get inside any of the buildings except the barn where the cows and horses stayed. So, we had been waiting most of the day to wait for her return from Kakariko Village, where I'm sure she had traveled to deliver goods for the people. But, impatient as I was, I found it incredibly annoying to sit here and spend an entire day out in the sun in a horse pasture rather than travelling further and finding out my next destination.

I closed my eyes and turned my head to the sky, letting my memories of the past few days sweep their way into my mind. I had been graced with the mission of saving Hyrule from all of total destruction from the Shadow Realm ruler, Ganondorf. He was definitely something…something purely evil, and something most people would never want to meet. After sneaking into the Sacred Realm behind me, he turned the beautiful land of Hyrule into a living hell-hole, complete with the living dead taking refuge in Castle Town to serve as sort of a "barrier" from any outsiders attempting to come to his demonized version of the Royal Family's castle.

Passing by these incredibly grotesque critters, I found my way to Kokiri Village, where I had quickly learned that Ganondorf's minions had taken over the tiny village that I used to call home. After the death of the Great Deku Tree, and of my disappearance, the Shadow Realm minions had attacked and demanded the village as theirs. The Kokiri had fled, taking refuge in the Lost Woods, as they had no means of protection. After coming upon the Forest Temple and defeating a shadow puppet of Ganondorf's, I travelled to Kakariko Village, finding out that the entirety of Death Mountain was covered thick with the stench of Shadow. I trudged up the mountain and found that the Goron's had also been attacked, and the news was devastating. There was absolutely no life left in the village, save a couple of Gorons who directed me into the volcano to their beloved Fire Temple, where Volvagia, the great dragon, had been revived by Ganondorf. After defeating the beast, I had finally happened upon Lake Hylia, discovering the lake to be almost completely dried up. I had taken to the water and meandered my way throughout the vast halls of the Water Temple until I happened upon one room:

The Room of Illusions.

And it truly was a room full of illusions, its misty haze continuing forever and ever into the horizon. I had heard rumors of this room circulating throughout the Zoras when I was a child, and it lived up to the hype. A lone tree stood in the center of the room, the haze clinging to it like moths to a lamp. The tree didn't show much life, with no greenery or even a bird or insect calling it home. Instead, it stood upon the only dry bit of land in the entire room, casting no shadows; it stood as a shining example of what this room contained. Nothingness, and plenty of it.

I immediately drew my sword, knowing full well that despite the room's empty appearance, there was definitely something hiding. The iron bars had immediately fallen down behind me as soon as I had walked into the room, allowing no path of escape. There was no mistaking it- I wasn't alone. I cautiously moved towards the tree, examining every bit of it. It seemed a little odd to be scrutinizing a tree, especially when it was dead, but I knew there could be _anything_ unpredictable in this place. You always had to be on your guard, or you'd cease to exist, to put it lightly. As soon as I got close enough to the tree, I immediately spun around and directed my blade to it. I blinked a few times, surprised that there was nothing on the other side of the rotting tree. I slowly drew back, lowering my blade to the ground, letting the time stretch on forever. I gazed at the tree for the longest time, admiring the intricate swirling designs of the bark and getting lost in the curls and swerves. My mind swam just as those lines were, and I began to drift off into some sort of hazy day-dream. It ached to pull my head away, but I did, and began to walk aimlessly away from the tree, not expecting much. Nothing could really jump out at me- there wasn't anything else in the room to hide behind, and it'd be painfully obvious if anything tried to run at me. The immense puddle of water that the entire room was covered in would make it impossible to attack me from any direction, unless of course that said thing could fly.

Which was slim to none with how this god-forsaken prison was constructed.

Expecting very little, I sheathed my sword and continued onward, wondering if I would ever come in contact with any sort of exit. I scanned the horizon, blinking a few times to see if my eyes were just not adjusting to my surroundings or if I was going blind from all the mist. Soon enough, however, the door came into site, and I ran up to it. I grabbed the iron bars and squeezed them with all my might, cursing under my breath. The exit was blocked as well, and I couldn't understand why. There wasn't anything in this room, not even a switch. The tree was my only clue, but I had stared at that damned thing long enough. I craned my head around, willing there to be any sort of sign. This room was beginning to make me loopy. The mist was getting to my head, and so was the wetness of my boots. The water seeped into them, making my feet feel very gross. The feeling was considerably uncomfortable. Sighing, I turned around and began to make my way back to the tree. I planned on sitting on the dry bit of land and leaning against the tree to recuperate and get my thoughts back in order. But, as I neared the tree, I realized there was something strange about it. The physical appearance hadn't changed, but there was an odd feeling as I neared it.

Something, ominous…

I crept towards it more, my attention distracted by the odd feeling. I didn't even think to unsheathe my sword at all; all I wondered was what could have possibly created this feeling. It felt almost choking, like an immense chemical cloud had shrouded the tree. There was no change to the amount of mist; if anything, the amount of mist had gone down since I had passed it earlier. I began to tread lightly, trying to quiet the small splashes I made as I walked. My senses screamed at me all at once, of fear, distaste, anger, sadness, pain… these weird feelings that I had never imagined could be combined into one. The tree was no longer mesmerizing to stare at. It seemed to almost be repulsive, its aging and rotting branches creeping out to snag me and steal me away into a bottomless spit of suffering and desolation. These dark feelings began to scare me, and I began to panic. I had never panicked before, especially in a situation like this, so it surprised me greatly when I did. It surprised me even more when I didn't turn tail and flee from the imminent danger I surely faced the closer I came to the tree.

My pointed ears pricked a little, and it seemed almost as if I could hear a dark, menacing chuckle. That was also when I realized that the tree was casting a shadow, something I thought I hadn't noticed before. Either that, or there hadn't been a shadow there at all when I first came past. Either way, it caught me off guard and I stopped in my tracks. The silence that followed was almost sickening. I heard absolutely nothing, and soon my ears began to ring a little. I rubbed them a bit, trying to get some sort of feeling back into them. I was frozen between bewilderment and trepidation. Something was watching me- I could feel it. I could feel eyes burning into the small of my back, and I could feel the choking sensation getting stronger. The shadow was morphing, and I blinked.

It was gone.

The strange feelings stopped. The choking ceased, the burning sensation of being watched faded away. All that was left was me and my utter confusion. I finally began to unsheathe my sword, but something was stopping me. Something was holding me back, and I couldn't figure out what or why. I tried to move my arm, but it was held in place by some strange foreign feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I struggled with the feeling for a minute. A bead of sweat fell down my face, and I realized just how hard I was working to just move my arm. I tried wiggling my fingers, and that worked. I tried rotating my wrist, and that worked as well. The only thing I couldn't do was move my elbow or lift my arm. I slowly began to raise my other arm, but about halfway through moving it to my sword, it was stopped in midair. I froze to the spot. It felt like some_one_ was holding my arm, not some_thing._ And it was scaring the shit out of me.

I was beginning to seriously panic at this point. If I couldn't move either of my arms, then I was pretty much helpless in doing anything to defend myself. And despite there being nothing in the room save the creepy ass tree, I felt like I really, REALLY needed my sword. I changed my plan, and kicked straight out behind me. The feeling of restraint on my arms was lifted, and I lurched forward, immediately grabbing my sword and swinging it straight out in front of me as I twirled around and glared angrily at whatever was behind me. Again, there was nothing. I was beginning to get very peeved, and whoever or whatever had been holding me was going to get a serious ass whooping. That is, if I could figure out what was going on.

A maniacal laugh resonated throughout the hollow room, and I immediately changed my stance. I grabbed my shield and gritted my teeth in anger. Someone had been here the whole time- and they had been hiding from me, as impossible as that seemed. I flicked my eyes around quickly, trying to find where the laugh had come from, when suddenly someone whispered into my ear with an icy vengeance that made me chilled to the bone:

"Hello, _Hero._ And welcome to _my_ home."

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**So, hoped you all enjoyed that!  
Also, I wanna give some credit to _linklover88_, an incredibly nice and talented author...she basically gave me the inspiration to write this story! I've only known her for a little while but she feels like a totally awesome friend I've known for like, AGES.  
So, much love to her! And read her story _Without You_! It's a yaoi fic, but hey, if you like that kinda stuff, READ IT. The woman knows what she's doing!**

**Until my next update, cya! ^~^**


	2. Chapter 2: The Understanding

**Ha, sorry for the slow update! I meant to update by Sunday, but with everything that was going on (all the drama and all...blah.) I wasn't able to focus on my story as much. I wanted Dark and Link to fight more than I did, but I decided to change it into a sort of "bonding" moment. (I don't really know what else to call it...)**

**But anywho, here is my second chapter! It's not as good as I thought it was going to be, but I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Please review! The more reviews the better :)**

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I was completely frozen to the spot. That laugh, that horrible, sickening, bone-chilling laugh… there was no way that I could have ever escaped it. It surrounded me, and I tried swallowing, but choked on my own spit. I hunched over and began to cough uncontrollably, and immediately I was taken by the arms again. I could feel them being yanked up over my head and behind my back as far as my joints would allow. I dropped my sword and shield and watched as they landed in the water with two enormous splashes. They both clanged against the rocky floor beneath, causing a deafening ring to resonate throughout the room. I clenched my teeth in pain and squeezed my eyes shut tight, trying to think of something, of anything, to get out of the mess that I had let myself get sucked into. Alas, there was nothing.

Nothing except my ragged and shallow breaths as the fiend held me tighter and tighter.

I screamed out in pain as the being chuckled and yanked my body backwards in ways that no Hylian should be able to do. Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes, blinding me more than the mist and pain already had. My feet skittered underneath of me across the ground, and I felt myself falling back into the clutches of my enemy. The being tightened its hold on me, not allowing me to fall, but also not righting me either. I was stuck in the most uncomfortable position in my life, and I had no way of moving. If I tried, I'd fall flat on my back, or on top of my captor. There was no easy way out.

The being breathed into my ear and licked the tips. I yelled out, spewing a long string of curse words back at it. I craned my head around so I could see it and gasped.

What I saw was a mirror image of myself, but almost completely the opposite from me in every way imaginable. The entire entity was dark- its hair, clothing, skin. And its eyes- they were blood-shot red, piercing into my soul and making me cringe in fear. Its smirk was uncharacteristically happy, but I could see evil behind the smile. When it noticed I was gaping at it, it smiled a big toothy grin, and I could see fangs, as sharp as any knife blade fresh from the blacksmith.

I swallowed hard and continued to stare, not knowing how to react. The dark being chuckled and pushed me forward with such force that I had no time to react or catch myself. I fell flat on my face in the water, feeling like I had just been hit by a boulder. I was severely dazed and lightheaded, and I almost didn't move at first, thinking with the pain gone, I was finally able to relax. A little too late, I realized I wasn't breathing in any oxygen- only water. With that, I pushed myself upright and started coughing and spluttering, the water dripping off my body and my clothes. I slowly moved my head around to see the being again, and thank Goddesses it wasn't coming at me again. It seemed too pleased with itself, seeming to feel as if it had tortured me enough. Noticing my gaze locked upon it, the being smiled at me and waved. I growled and reached for my sword. I glanced at how close I had been to landing on top of it and possibly piercing myself with my own weapon. I shivered at the thought and slowly stood upright. I stared the being down as I walked over to my shield and picked it up as well. _What is the point of hurting me if you are just going to watch me grab all of my gear again?_

The dark entity yawned, and nonchalantly gazed at its nails, inspecting them like a preppy princess would. My gaze never lingered, and I was beginning to question the creature's motives. Why would you stalk me from a distance, attack me, and then not give a damn?

The question floated around in my conscience like a moth to a flame, pestering and nagging. As I relaxed enough for the being's taste, it finally turned to me, a sly smile still decorating its face. It flipped its hair back, the dark locks falling slowly back down over its face, shadowing everything but its eyes. They glimmered and stared at me with such intensity I felt like my soul was being scrutinized and judged. And finally, it began to speak.

"As I said, welcome to my home Hero. This is where I, the Shadow Prince, have been locked away for 7 very long, gruesome years, awaiting your _gracious,"_ he tucked his arm beneath him and bowed very formally, smile still alight on his face, "arrival. Since you have so politely graced me with your presence, I felt it was only appropriate to give you the same sort of polite greeting as I felt necessary." Standing back upright, he grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, letting it dangle beside him. I gaped at the sword, looking down at my own. It was a mirror image of my own version of the Master Sword, the handle jet black, the blade itself a shadowy dark grey. The blade seemed to glow with a reddish hue, as my own sword glowed with a bluish hue. They were complete opposites.

Much as I and this Shadow Prince were complete opposites of each other in almost every way.

We stared at each other for the longest time, unmoving, unflinching. Our gazes never wavered; we stared intently at each other, sizing each other up, wondering what the other would do. My face was hardened into a steely glare, while his was set in a constant smile. The mist was beginning to settle in thick around us, and I began to wonder if the Shadow Prince, as he so called himself, could control it. As he said, I had entered into his home turf, and he seemed to be able to do just about anything in here.

"What's wrong, Hero? Cat caught your tongue?" He smirked at me and began to stalk towards me, mimicking a feline sauntering up for a few pets. I thrust out my sword towards him once he got close enough, and he nimbly jumped out of the way, thrusting his out at me as well. I immediately pulled up my shield, and the steel clanged against it. It bounced off and the Shadow Prince came at me again, this time straight from behind. I whirled around in time just to duck backwards, almost losing my balance as I watched the blade slice the air right above my face. I gulped.

_This guy knows how to retaliate in a matter of seconds…_

I straightened myself as he calmly drew back and nonchalantly checked his sword for any scrapes.

"What exactly are you trying to do, attacking me and then letting me recover?" I demanded.

He pricked his ears and turned to look at me. "Well, wouldn't you suppose I am judging your fighting capabilities?" He smiled again, much like a mother would to sooth her child.

I shivered. _That smile, it's so damn creepy. He does it constantly._

After not getting any sort of response from me, he shrugged and leaned on his sword, preparing himself to talk for a while.

"As I stated, I am the Shadow Prince. However, I wasn't born from any being, human or demon; I am a shadow." He glanced at me. "I am _your _shadow, Hero. That is what makes me the Shadow Prince. I govern over all of the shadows and demons that this world is comprised of."

I shifted from foot to foot, trying to grasp the concept. My mind went blank. His explanation made no sense at all. He was my shadow? I looked down at the ground beneath my feet and saw my shadow as it had always been, a black blob that followed me no matter where I went. It didn't make any sense to me that he could be my shadow when my shadow was right here beside me…

He noticed me staring down at the ground and grinned once more. "Here, let me show you."

All of a sudden, he vanished completely. I gasped and looked all around, trying to find where he had went. There was no sight of him anymore, just the mist that clung to my body and the lone tree. I spun around in circles, desperately trying to find him. He was going to come at me again at any moment, I could feel it. Instead, I heard a crazy laugh and looked directly down at my shadow. And, instead of mimicking my own movements, the shadow was moving on its own. I screamed and began running backwards, trying to get away from it, but it was no use. The Shadow Prince was, quite literally, _in my shadow._

"Haha, Hero, scared? There is no need to fear this; it is only natural that I can morph into your shadow. I am your shadow after all…" He detached from my form, and I watched as he swam through the water, up into the tree's shadow. I looked down and saw that I had no shadow at all. It was like I wasn't even there, or that I was floating and my shadow had been swallowed up by the water itself. It was eerily creepy and it spooked me a little.

I stole a glance back up at the tree, and knowing I was powerless at the moment to try and defend myself, I stood there, tensed and ready to deflect anything that the Shadow Prince would try and throw at me. Instead, he settled himself upon the bare patch of land that the tree sat on and conjured up a shadow of an apple, which he bit into. The sound was an audible crunch, despite there being no apple in sight. I pondered at the fact that he could eat a shadow apple without there being a physical apple to eat, when he began to speak once again.

"Well, I should properly introduce myself a bit more now that we're both settled. Care to take a seat?" He patted the space next to him, and I warily began to walk forward. I froze in place, wondering if it was wise to sit next to something that I knew nothing about. Nevertheless, I sat anyways, figuring I had nothing to lose if he was really able to defeat me. Hyrule would probably go into complete chaos, but I wouldn't have to deal with this life anymore. I never wanted to be a Hero- it had just fallen on my shoulders like an unwanted present.

With another bite into his apple, he spoke once more.

"I may be the Shadow Prince, but just like you hate to be called Hero of Time, I hate to be called the Shadow Prince. I prefer Dark. Short, sweet, and quite to the point. I am a dark being, therefore the name suits me well." He paused to take one more bite of the apple before throwing the shadow away. I watched as the shadow detached itself from his and it disappeared, but I heard and saw a splash a few feet away.

"You may also wonder how I can possibly be your shadow. I saw your face and I could tell by your emotions that my explanation confounded you a bit. But, here is the story.

"Seventeen years ago, a Hyrulian boy was born in Castle Town, in one of the most prosperous times Castle Town had ever seen. However, it was this child's destiny to save Hyrule from the ruthless and merciless King Ganon once he became of age and became the Hero of Time. However, Ganon wasn't pleased by this at all. He knew he had to stop this prophecy from coming true and so, with the help of the Shadow Beings from the Shadow Realm, he summoned them forth from the graveyard and Shadow Temple in Kakariko Village and the shadows and demons wreaked havoc on Castle Town.

"However, this still didn't please the Great Ganon. He soon realized that the Hylians were able to defeat the shadows fairly easily because they didn't have a leader. That was when Ganon decided to create me- your perfect other half, the complete opposite of you, the shadow of the Hero of Time."

I stared straight ahead the entire time Dark explained his story, and at the mention of that, I snapped it to look directly at him. He had morphed out of my shadow and was a physical being again, leaning against the tree and gazing out into the water around us.

"I was born out of the darkest and most evil thoughts. Ganon stole away the souls of the dead, and stole the living's shadows as part of my being. He stole all of the evil and dangerous thoughts and feelings and emotions from you- fear, hatred, anger, sadness, greed, abusiveness…anything that is negative that you could possibly ever think of. Yes, you can still feel these emotions, but not to the levels that other Hylians can feel them. After feeling satisfied that I would be evil enough, he stole the body of a baby out of a mother's womb and created me. He raised me, and I was his servant, a pet. He beat me when I did wrong, and he rarely praised me when I did as I was told. I was only taught to kill, and that killing you would grant my freedom from this tomb.

"When Ganon was unable to defeat you when you were young, he immediately stuck me inside of this room after he seized control of the sacred realm. Here I have waited seven long years for your arrival, to defeat you… but now that you are here, I feel differently."

I continued to stare at Dark as he talked, feeling all of his life crash suddenly onto my own shoulders. I could feel every pain he felt, could feel all of the negativity he had ever felt- and I knew he didn't want to kill me. Because to kill me, he wouldn't gain anything. Maybe he would be granted the freedom from this room, but he wouldn't be happy. He would still be Ganon's servant, even thou he was told he was the Shadow Prince. He held no status under Ganon.

He then turned sad and pleading eyes upon me. "Hero, I only ask you this- what would you do, if that your life depended on another being's, but your only goal in life was to kill them? Would you do it to please your master, only to die doing so because your life and theirs was connected?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but I had nothing to say. He could let me go, and allow me to defeat the evil from the dungeon and save all of Hyrule and let him live. But, he would still be forever trapped in this room, and would probably be punished severely by Ganon for allowing me to walk away unscathed. But if he were to defeat me, he would be released, but only live the half-life of a shadow without the physical body he had now…

It was all a horrible mess that had no easy answer.

I turned my head away and only gazed at the stagnant water. We sat there together in silence, studying the water as if it held some answer or truth for both of us about our lives and their meanings. But there was nothing. The mist began to make my eyes water a bit, and I sneezed. Dark pricked his ears towards me and stared at me for a moment, seeming to size me up. I glared back at him, daring him to pull his sword and start the fight again.

_Come on shadow, do what you were made to do. Kill me. Kill us both._

But instead of doing so, he stood up, stretched, and held out a hand for me. I reluctantly grabbed it and he pulled me up into a standing position. I steadied myself and watched as Dark began to walk away, in the direction of the exit. When he realized I wasn't coming with, he turned back towards me.

"Hero, do you not want to be free? Don't you have an entire country of people to save?"

I gaped at him for a moment, and my feet began walking forwards as if they had a mind of their own. My brain was lost in a trance, between reality and what I had just heard. It was like me and Dark were both on the same page, both destined for something neither of us wanted to do. Him even being created from my shadows, from the scraps of society and the world. It was almost pitiful to think about, and I began to feel a little bad for him, despite his earlier attempts at trying to kill me.

He smiled slightly when I caught up with him. "By the way, I'm not as bad as I look, even if I've been holed up in this hell hole for too long because of you."

I shrugged. "My life isn't a cake walk either…"

He laughed, but it was much different from earlier. It was more of a carefree laugh, rather than the maniacal one that made my skin crawl. This laugh was much different, and it made me smile slightly. I didn't know what was up with this Dark character or why he had suddenly gone from murderous villain to my new best friend, but it was a much better situation to be in than lying dead on the floor letting my body rot away.

I continued to follow after Dark to the exit of the room. With a snap of his fingers, the iron bars cracked, and they slowly disintegrated away. I didn't know if that was the way he was supposed to open the door, but when I was about to protest, Dark kicked open the door and continued to walk through like nothing was wrong. He glanced back at me.

"Coming, Hero?"

I nodded and without another word, we both proceeded into the abyss that awaited us in the Water Temple. I had no idea what was in store for me, or for this Dark character. But what I also didn't know was that my life was going to be completely changed after this day- possibly for the better.

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**The idea for the whole Shadow Prince and Ganon creating Dark came from ****_linklover88's_**** story ****_Without You_**. **I changed the idea a little bit to make it my own, but I would just like to give her credit for the idea :) She's a great author and I can't wait till she updates her story!**

**Also, any ideas on what Dark and Link should face when they come out of the room? I have no idea what I'm going to make them do, so any suggestions would be really appreciated! Just PM me if you have any ideas :)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Realization

**Well, here is my third chapter, in Dark's point of view. I really appreciate all the follows I've been getting the past few days :D Favorites, follows, and of course reviews are highly appreciated! *Sorry I ask for them in every chapter***

**This chapter will give you some insight on how Dark thinks and feels, and I hope you all enjoy it. It's not really actiony, it's more thought provoking I guess... I don't know what else to put here, so I guess enjoy! xD**

**I would like to thank not only ****_linklover88,_**** but also ****_yuinyan98_****! You are both super duper nice and I really appreciate the support :) Can't wait to read whatever both of you come up with next!**

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_Rage._

_Unimaginable rage._

_I writhed in my sleep, tossing and turning, kicking and flailing. If I could scream, I would be. But the sleep kept me from opening my mouth, from my vocal chords emitting any kind of sound. So despite my protests in my dreams, the real world couldn't hear me._

_There wasn't even anybody around in the real world to save me from my nightmare. It was just pain, and rage. So much rage. But why? Where was it coming from? Who was I raging at?_

_I'm confused. Lost._

_The PAIN._

_I screamed. I finally was able to scream. I opened my eyes, but I was still trapped in my own dream. No matter how many times I woke up, the agony awaited me._

_I saw nothing when I opened my eyes, but I could feel it. The terror. The agony._

_Goddesses, help me. Please…_

_I could finally feel the water seeping around me from the room. My senses were coming back. But the pain lingered. It was as if I still wasn't awake, despite me opening my eyes and seeing the tree, the sand, the mist._

_I was finally back in reality._

_I struggled awake and sat up, shaking from my nightmare. Every time I fell asleep, even if I dozed off, I was greeted with this terrible nightmare. It was the price I paid for being created the way I was, being made up of everything despicable and cruel in the world. The dead's souls, villain's thoughts…_

_And someone's measly shadow._

_I wrapped my arms around myself and cried. I cried every time I woke up, too._

_It was just one of those things that were part of my daily routine._

_I managed to crawl back onto the tiny island and rest myself against the tree, breathing heavily and dripping with water from my innocent flailing. I knew there would never be an easy was to escape those dreaded nightmares, and I always tried preparing and bracing myself beforehand. But it would always fail. And so, with a heavy and deep sigh, I leaned back against the tree and proceeded to lose myself in my own thoughts and imagination, trying to pass the time._

_The time that I was supposed to meet him._

_And kill him._

_Once and for all._

I blinked.

The flashback happened out of nowhere as me and the Hero trekked through the temple. I had been through the temple a few times with Ganon for when I would be freed to get a feel for the place, but I had never been out by myself, let alone guiding somebody.

Somebody that I was supposed to kill.

I looked back at the Hero, who was quite a ways behind me. We had just crossed the water, and he wasn't too fond of getting wet once again. None of the creatures in the temple would attack me, as they as well as myself were part of Ganon's minions, but they of course had to try and make a meal out of the Hero. I shook my head and proceeded to watch his struggle as he swam across to the center island.

My thoughts drifted back to that day. It had been the worst nightmare that I had encountered, and by far the most serious. Never had I felt a pain as real as the pain that assaulted me in my dreams. I rubbed my forehead, trying to make sense of them still. I was a physical being with normal attributes, couldn't I have normal dreams? But no, I was created from shadows and demons. My nightmares were my dreams, and my dreams were my nightmares. My imagination was my reality, and this was just my imagination…

I was becoming quite lost in my own thoughts at this point. I was born to kill. Okay, but where did that leave me _after_ I killed the Hero? Would I dissipate away like I predicted, because our lives were connected? Or would I continue to thrive because my body was also made up of the souls of the dead?

Why had I even faltered in attacking him? I did a few times, but each time I held back some. It was as if I had to protect him, like I had this instinct that told me not to kill. I was bred for it, and yet I couldn't even carry out the simple task. It made no sense in my mind.

And then back to my nightmares again. Those made even less sense than that strange instinct that came over me every time the Hero was in danger. I stared daggers at the carnivorous fish that were beginning to gain ground on the Hero, and they slowly swam away in the opposite direction. Nobody but me was ever going to attack the Hero, if ever.

Those dreams. Why did they make no sense? All I ever saw in them was complete and absolute darkness. There was nothing else to them. Darkness, pain, and unimaginable rage. I had never figured out where the rage came from, but I assumed the pain had come from the souls of the dead and all their suffering at not being put to rest, tormenting me and my body every chance they could so as they could be appeased of their troubles.

I sighed. There was no answer for my strange past and no clear answer for my future, either. All I knew was that this body was riddled with problems and complications that made my life harder than it needed to be.

_Damn you, Ganon, for giving me a body only a cruel and sick-minded fiend would want._

I turned my head back towards the Hero, who had finally reached the ledge and was hoisting himself up. He struggled for a minute with the slippery surface, glaring at me.

I stared back. "What?"

"Come help me you fucking bastard…" He grunted as he tried once again to pull himself up, only to slip back further into the water.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "It isn't that hard, but if you insist Hero…"

I walked over and grabbed him by the arm and with one pull he stumbled up onto the ledge. He shook himself out and began digging at his ears, trying to rid them of water.

"Thanks." He muttered gruffly.

I turned and waved my hand back at him. "No problem. By the way, there's more water where we are going, so you might as well save the drying off for later."

I chuckled as I heard a long string of cussing emit from him. For being the Hero, he wasn't much of a gentleman. But I suppose I wasn't either.

Oh well.

We continued to traverse the temple with ease after that. He seemed to finally get his sea-legs and soon began gaining ground on me. Of course, he would never pass me. I was always one step ahead of him, and knowing all of the puzzles and secrets of the temple helped a little too.

Eventually we emerged upon the final stretch of the temple. Once again, my thoughts drifted back to the flashback I had a few hours earlier. I was created to kill him. If I did that, I would be granted freedom. I could easily walk wherever I pleased without having to worry about Ganon anymore. I would be my own person, and I would still have control and power amongst the shadows and demons of Ganon's army. Was that not a sweet reward?

But at the same time, I knew there could be severe consequences. If I tried getting in Ganon's way at all, I could be killed without a single thought. Or, if I killed the Hero, I could be wiped away from existence as well. I enjoyed this body and the life I was leading as a physical being rather than a shadow as I had once been. I had more freedoms and I could actually experience life as it was meant to be experienced. I had no way of knowing if I would cease to exist alongside the Hero if I killed him, since I was basically a part of him. Half of me was made up of his shadow, the other half the rest of the damned junk Ganon decided to create me with.

And it all haunted me as each day passed.

We had stopped in front of the final door into the unknown. It was where the guardian of the temple lay in slumber, watching over it while Ganon's army slowly seized control of Hyrule. However, the Hero described it differently. It was the boss of the temple, and it had to be slayed in order for peace to come to Hyrule. I honestly didn't care; the thing didn't listen to me anyways. It had a mind of its own and preferred to just laze around without much conversation. It had no body, and it had no brain, but we could still communicate. It was strange, but I didn't really question it. Ganon created strange creatures that were impossible to figure out, and this was just another one of them.

The Hero had sat along the floor and was drinking a red sticky liquid, which he plugged his nose for. I assumed it was to ignore the aftertaste. The stuff must taste disgusting if he grimaced every time he gulped. I wondered why on earth he was even drinking the stuff if it tasted so disgusting.

"What is that you're drinking?" I questioned.

He finished the last few drops and glanced over my way. "A red potion. It has healing properties but it tastes like shit."

I laughed. "Ah, so that's how you haven't died or fainted from all the stuff we've been doing."

He nodded. "Yeah, something like that." He put the bottle aside and leaned back, closing his eyes and sighing. I was still standing. I didn't feel like sitting. I had sat around for most of my life, and this was the most running around I had ever done.

And it felt good.

I began to pace back and forth, thinking more about the strange dreams I had and about my purpose in life. He was fully healed, but he wasn't expecting an attack- I could take him down now if I wanted. It would be easy. Just a quick slice to his jugular and then…

I glanced over to him. He had dozed off, and I couldn't help but begin to admire him. I was born exactly like him, just with a bigger build and a bit more endurance. I had always admired the body Ganon had given me, even if it was riddled with curses. It was a glorious body really. I could do anything I pleased with it and always come out unscathed. And it was all thanks to the Hero sitting here. His body had breathed life into my existence, and I began to actually feel grateful for it.

Not grateful towards Ganon really, but grateful towards the Hero. Why should I have to kill him if he granted me my life? Ganon did too, but he beat me and treated me like I was horse shit. The Hero at least treated me like I was a Hylian and not some rock to be kicked around. I was beginning to wonder if I should even follow Ganon's commands anymore. The world seemed like it was pretty miserable outside the temple walls from what the Hero was saying, and it continued to just get worse the longer Ganon was in power. All the different peoples and races were suffering. The shadows and demons were beginning to come out more during the day and haunt people. It was a sad tale to hear. I didn't want that for innocent people.

Especially not the Hero.

I made my decision. I wanted Ganon dead, not the Hero. He had done nothing wrong. The only crimes he committed were against Ganon himself, who was considered the King of Evil. No wonder I felt such resentment towards him. Everyone did. Ganon wasn't to be trusted, and I wasn't about to follow his orders anymore.

No more. No longer. No more misery and pain.

I continued to look the Hero up and down and the more I looked, the more admiration I felt for him. He was probably the most courageous and fearless being I had ever come into contact with. He wasn't headstrong and insane like Ganon was, he was just a plain and innocent Hylian who had a destiny he had no control over, and that could possibly kill him.

I watched as his chest rose and fall with his silent breathing. He had fallen into a deep slumber, and I didn't really blame him. All the damned running around in this place had worn me out pretty good, and I could only imagine how wore out he was, considering I had much more endurance than he did. I finally realized that my legs pretty much felt like they were about to fall off, and when I glanced down, it was like my entire body was shaking from exhaustion. _Geez, how the hell does he manage when I'm like this?_

I clambered over to the wall beside the Hero and slid down it, grunting when I hit the floor. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling for a while, wondering about what I would do when Ganon found out I was betraying him. He would hunt me down for sure, and it would just put an even bigger target on the Hero's back. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift, but I didn't allow it to sleep. Not now. Not with the Hero around. If he woke up and saw me thrashing around in my sleep because of my nightmares, well…

I didn't want to think about it.

Instead, I kept my mind occupied with all the events that had happened that day. My life had been so boring up until the Hero emerged into the Room of Illusions. At first, I was elated that he had finally arrived- I could be freed from my cruel and sick prison.

But after fighting him long enough, I came to realize something. He wasn't like the rest of the creatures I had come in contact with in the temple. He had thoughts and feelings; he wasn't just a monster to toy with that only had one thing on its mind, which was to kill. No, he had friends, and he had a duty to save the entirety of Hyrule. He had the biggest job of them all, and who was I to ruin the lives of so many innocent people and creatures outside of these walls?

I sighed and started to play with the chips of stone that had fallen off the temple walls. So many things to think about, all in less than twenty-four hours. It was strange, how quickly my life had changed. My duties changed from serving a cruel and merciless King of Evil, to acting as protector of the Hero of Time, who would probably be incredibly thankful for me sparing his life in the end. I could only imagine what he would grant me after I helped him in his duties. Would he give me rupees? Glorious amounts as a payment? Or would he give me his horse, the finest one in all of Hyrule?

Or perhaps he'd just give me a place to live, a place to actually call…

Home.

Home. It sounded so nice. The Room of Illusions had been anything but a home. Water covering almost every bit of floor, a dead tree for company, little food, the water was too tainted to drink, and a tiny, sandy island for a bed.

What the hell kind of home was that?

After a while my thoughts became too strange and erratic to make sense of them, and I found myself dreaming of the world outside of the temple walls. Beautiful colors so vibrant and amazing that I would lose myself in all of them, of all the greens and blues and purples and reds… And of the people, the Hylians, the Zoras, the Gorons, and the Kokiri… And of the food. No more eating dead animals that Ganon would hand over to me. Only the finest meats and vegetables that I could have to stuff myself to my heart's content. I saw so many things develop in my mind about all the things the Hero told me about, and I could barely contain myself.

That was when I realized I had fallen asleep.

There was no rage.

There was no pain.

Only pure bliss and happiness.

I awoke with a start. I looked over at the Hero, but he was still lost in his own dreams, his eyes flickering to and fro under his eyelids. I looked all around me just to make sure that I had actually fallen asleep. My gear was propped up against the wall beside me, my hat planted right on top of it all. My boots were aligned along the wall next to the Hero's as well. So I really _had_ been asleep!

But how? My dreams were always nightmares… but they had been sweet blissful dreams this time.

I looked over at the Hero again and watched as he mumbled something about his horse, Epona. I smiled for the first time in a long time. A true, genuine smile, not one full of anger and rage, the emotions Ganon gave me. The smile was from the emotions I had gained from the Hero, of being a part of him, his shadow.

Happiness. Pure happiness.

I had allowed myself to be separated from Ganon, and attached myself to the Hero instead. My body and mind were free. They were completely and totally _free._

All I wanted to do in that moment was hug the Hero, but it would wake him up, and it would be so out of character for me to just randomly hug him that I was sure he would panic and probably try to push me away or something…

But I was finally _free!_

Joy seeped through my body and I felt like jumping and leaping for joy. These feelings were so strange and foreign to me that it began to scare me even. I didn't know what to do with myself, and I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that my life was changing so drastically and for the better. I had no reason to care what Ganon thought of me, or what the Hero thought even.

I was my own person, and I was going to finally live my life how I had dreamt living it since I had been shoved into that damned room seven long years ago.

_Sleep well, Hero. _I thought.

_Tomorrow, when you awake, our lives will never be the same again._

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**Dun dun dun... O: Dark may be starting to get feeling and affections for the Hero...hmm :3**

**Please review and PM me if you have any suggestions! I have one more day of school left, so I am finally free from having to wake up every morning and do homework and get distracted from updating :D Endless hours of writing, woohoo!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Fight

**Hey! Sorry for the slow update this time, I've been playing Wizard101 and trying to hatch a good pet and level up to 90... *lots of work* So yea, sorry for the sluggish updating O_o But here is my next chapter, back in Link's PoV. I hope you guys really like it :D**

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My eyelids flickered open, and I groaned. My entire body was stiff from sleeping in such a horribly awkward position, especially up against a stone wall. I let my body relax a little from the tension, and I stretched every bit of muscle that I possibly could. The feeling felt absolutely amazing and I sighed loudly and happily when I felt my back crack as well. No wonder it hurt so badly.

I scratched my head a bit and looked around, remembering that I wasn't alone. But, Dark was nowhere to be seen. I was absolutely confused as to where he had even gone. He had been pacing back and forth in deep thought when I had drifted into sleep, and now he was gone.

_Could he be any more mysterious?_

"I can be, if you really want me to."

I screamed and jumped straight up, managing to hit all of my gear and sent it toppling over into Dark's. I watched as it all fell with an earsplitting clang, and I cringed a bit. The noise echoed endlessly throughout the cavernous hall. I spun around with an enraged glare and my eyes rested upon Dark, who was innocently looking at me a few feet away.

He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. I managed to read your thoughts and I assumed you were speaking out loud rather than in your head."

I glared at him, quite baffled. "You can read my thoughts? What more can you do besides morph into my shadow and read my thoughts and all this other nonsense?"

He picked at his fingernails again, which was something I noticed he did quite often. "I'm not entirely sure Hero. I'm learning more and more about myself at the same time as you are learning things about me."

With an annoyed huff I spun around and began picking up the mess I made. I could hear his footsteps as he came up alongside me and began grabbing things as well. I had made quite the mess, and all of the contents of my bag had spilled all over the place. Dark was gazing at each item curiously, carefully inspecting each piece and slowly setting it all into a pile. His demeanor was completely different from the day before; it was like he actually _cared._

"Well, of course I care. You spared my life, did you not? I should return the favor by helping you out." I gaped at him again, and I noticed that he didn't realize that I hadn't spoken out loud again. I let a long sigh escape between my lips, and I began placing up a barrier to my mind so that he wouldn't become confused again.

He paused in the middle of picking up my gear at that point and glanced over at me. "You're blocking me out? And don't say no, I can tell." He simply gazed at me for the longest time, and it was almost impossible to read any of his emotions. It was like he had become a calm and sure statue.

I opened my mouth to reply, but at that moment a thunderous roar echoed throughout the entire temple. The walls shook, and bits of it began to fall apart. It was as if a huge earthquake was ripping through all of Hyrule at that very moment. Dark and I both struggled to grab ahold of something before both of us collapsed on top of each other and the gear surrounding us. The swords clanged against the stone, the shields clinked against each other and all of my items. I let out a wail of sheer panic and terror, while Dark's expression was one of complete and utter dread and shock. His face had gone from that characteristic dark tone to a paler shade, and it looked like he had seen a ghost.

Or something much, much worse.

The shaking began to subside, and immediately Dark began grabbing at anything he could reach and thrust it at me. I was too shocked to respond and simply sat there staring at him. He angrily grabbed my shoulders and jerked me awake.

"THIS IS NO TIME TO SIT AND STARE! THIS ENTIRE TEMPLE IS GOING TO COLLAPSE ON US IF YOU DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!"

I shook my head to clear it of the fuzz that had covered my mind after the initial shock of the strange earthquake that had occurred. "The what is going to what?"

He raged at me at that point. "I JUST TOLD YOU, THIS TEMPLE IS GOING TO COLLAPSE! MOVE, HERO!"

With that, he grabbed my sword and jammed it into my hands and shoved me towards the door, dodging moving spikes that sliced across the floor at various speeds. I began to finally understand the entire situation and that if I didn't start moving on my own, we would both die a horrible and piteous death. I righted my gear and began to run after him, keeping up a steady pace as we raced down the hallway towards the final room of the entire temple.

The boss room.

To Dark, it was just another one of Ganon's creations. But to me, it was something much more. And much worse. And with the entire temple falling down around us, it was a no brainer that I had to fight this thing as fast as I could. I had no idea what I was going up against, but it seemed like Dark had a slight idea, and so I was going to have to rely on him to know and understand what was happening during the fight. He seemed to know a lot about the entire temple itself, from every sticky puzzle we had gotten into to how to defeat any of the strange creatures we came across in here. He was my lifeline at the moment, and I was incredibly thankful that I hadn't attacked him when he had told me to sit and talk with him in the Room of Illusions.

Another thunderous roar echoed throughout the temple, but Dark and I were prepared. We grabbed ahold of whatever we could and, with much struggling, managed to crawl our way across the rest of the hallway to the Boss Door. I quickly slipped in the key and Dark thrust open the door ahead of me, already charging inside before I could blink. I raced in after him and was greeted with quite a sight.

In the center of the room was more water, with four platforms placed symmetrically about the pool. Every side of the room was littered with huge spikes, all the way up to the door that we had just opened. The water was a strange color, and instead of being a crystal clear blue like the rest of the dungeon had been, the water was an odd shade of a lighter blue, and was slightly murky. The door shut tight behind both of us as Dark and I walked closer towards the water, and he held up a hand to signal me to stop. I had learned after a while to simply do what Dark told me to do when it came to whatever we came across in the temple, because arguing was useless.

Simply put, if I ignored his orders, I would die.

Dark unsheathed his sword and slowly stalked forward, standing just at the water's edge. He then began to speak.

"Oh great and powerful guardian of the water temple, I come to you once again to ask you of a favor. Please arise and greet me so that we may engage in a friendly conversation."

At first, I thought Dark was crazy for talking to an obviously empty room with just a pool of water. But then, the water began to ripple, and I immediately grabbed my sword in preparation for an attack. Dark calmly glanced back at me and motioned for me to remain calm.

"Do not fret, Hero. Morpha will not attack you unless it wishes to disobey me, the Shadow Prince. After all, I am one of Ganon's most highly respected creations."

I nodded and sheathed my sword, but I still stared straight ahead at the rippling and swirling water, prepared for whatever was about to emerge. I had no idea what this Morpha creature looked like, but I knew that it wasn't going to be very pretty, especially with my prior knowledge of the rest of the bosses I had already faced.

Another earthquake shook the temple, and the water rippled even more. It quivered and quaked, and it took enough energy to try and stay upright. However, Dark didn't seem to be struggling. He was standing quite calmly, his body only shaking slightly. That's when I realized that a giant tentacle-like object was grabbing him and keeping him still. A strange orb floated around inside the tentacle, and it seemed to be almost staring me down, despite it having no eyes.

I shivered. Was this thing holding Dark Morpha? The name would make sense. It was in a sense water, but at the same time it was its own being that could contort in different ways and shapes. As the tremor subsided, the tentacle like object let go of Dark, but seemed to be hovering closer and closer to me. I backed away slowly, not really knowing what to do. Dark had ordered me to not attack, but if this thing got any closer…

"Morpha, that's enough. Please, leave him be for now. Your affairs are with me at the moment."

It seemed almost reluctant to leave me be, but the small orb quickly bounced its way back into the rippling water and created yet another tentacle, this one swirling about Dark, while the original tentacle kept a close watch on me. I was a little unnerved by this being, and I was ready to hack and slash my way out of here like I did the rest of the bosses. But I stayed calm for Dark to do his business- whatever that was.

He cleared his throat and began murmuring in hushed tones. I pricked my ears slightly to try and understand what he was saying, but it was gibberish to me. It wasn't Hylian, or any of the other languages I had heard throughout Hyrule; in fact, it was a completely different language altogether. I had no idea what Dark was saying, but Morpha seemed to be understanding, because the little orb would flit about every time Dark would stop speaking. I had no idea how Dark could even possibly communicate with this being since it had no body and no way of making any sounds except occasional splashes.

All of a sudden Dark thrust out his sword towards Morpha, and scraped the tiny orb that was residing within the tentacle. Immediately, the two tentacles shrunk back into the water and dissipated, while a strange screeching noise echoed throughout the room. Dark ran over to me, signaling me to unsheathe my sword and prepare for a fight.

I grabbed the sword and stared at the water, watching for the ripples to see where the orb was headed. I turned my attention to Dark and proceeded to question him.

"What were you speaking to Morpha? That language, I don't know it."

Dark grunted. "Its Shadow tongue. It has no name, it was created by Shadows for Shadows. You shouldn't have even heard it."

I began to ask yet another question when a tentacle shot up out of the water, straight for me. Dark dashed in front of me and raised his shield, blocking the tentacle and keeping it away from me. However, it managed to snag him up and lifted him high into the air. He struggled for a moment before shouting at me.

"Look out!" Dark used his free hand to point at another tentacle that was coming for me. As it came after me, I dived out of the way, watching as the appendage snagged itself on the spikes along the walls. However, being mostly comprised out of water, the spikes did nothing to it. Instead, it seemed to be stuck there, while the tiny orb dealt with Dark in its other tentacle. I took the opportunity and made a mad dash for it, slicing my sword straight down through it.

The orb shrieked again, just as it had when Dark sliced it. It immediately dropped Dark onto the hard stone floor, and I heard a loud grunt escape between his lips. The strange Shadow tongue that he was using earlier emitted from his lips again, and it was much louder and more intimidating than before. The orb floated up into a tentacle and seemed to be staring directly at Dark as he spoke.

I stared directly at it, seeing if Dark would flash me a look to attack. He began walking away from me, around the outside edges of the pool. He continued to speak to Morpha, and the small orb would respond, sometimes lashing out at him. He would always deflect the attack, keeping a close eye on me. I knew what he was planning- keep Morpha's attention off of me while we both prepared a plan to attack.

Another tremor shook the temple, jiggling Morpha around quite a bit. Dark and I had finally gotten used to the shakes and were able to remain standing, but we were still fairly clumsy. However, poor Morpha had no choice but to jiggle helplessly in its jello-like goo. That was when Dark gave me a simple nod of the head.

The signal to attack.

I began to charge at Morpha, my sword raised and pointed directly at the orb. Dark still spoke in his Shadow tongue, but as he saw me coming, he immediately changed his stance to one that was prepared to strike. Morpha seemed to take notice and tried to maneuver around, but with the tremor, it had become disoriented. I leapt high into the air, using one of the platforms in the water for a boosting pad, and sliced directly through the tentacle. Morpha shrieked again, and as I landed, Dark attacked it as well. With the two attacks one after the other, Morpha shrank into the water once again.

We both leapt onto the main outer platform and began plotting our next attack. Dark looked over at me for a moment and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

"What?" I questioned, curiosity gnawing away at me when he didn't deter his gaze.

"Nothing." He replied, and he finally turned his attention back to the battle.

I sat there for a moment wondering why on Earth he had been staring at me. It was really out of character for him, and it unnerved me a bit. Was he wondering if I was really a good ally, one to be trusted? Or could he still be wondering how to kill me…

"HERO!"

With that quick distraction, I hadn't been paying attention to Morpha. Dark tried leaping in front of me, but it was too late. Morpha grabbed me and squeezed me tightly, gripping me with so much force I thought I was going to be squeezed to death. It raised the tentacle I was trapped in high into the air. The tiny orb floated around in the goo, far away from where Dark could try and attack. He glared up at us helplessly, unable to do anything but wait for whatever was about to happen. I clenched my jaw shut tight, trying not to emit a scream of pain.

If Morpha had a face, I'm sure it would have been grinning at that moment. It shook me around, the orb floating back into the depths of the water. Dark dived in, seeking the small orb out. Morpha shook me harder, and it felt like my brain was being stuck into a blender set on high. With one more shake, it released me towards the wall, aimed right at the spikes. I desperately grabbed for my shield and was able to wrap it around me. However, the spike still dented into the shield, and I could feel it pierce into my stomach. I let out a scream as I fell onto the ground. I threw my sword and shield to the side and rolled over onto my side, grabbing at the gash in my abdomen.

Blood began to pool around me, and I stared at it in pure horror. I hadn't been attacked this badly before; yes, I had been bloodied from battle, but never was an injury so deep. I closed my eyes and rolled onto my back again, praying to the Goddesses that I was dreaming and the blood was imagined. But when I opened my eyes again, the reality hit me harder than the spike had.

I was dying.

I screamed out for Dark, wondering where the hell he was. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him leap up out of the water, the orb grasped tightly in his palm. It was shrieking profusely, and with a look of sheer triumph, Dark slammed it into the ground and stuck his foot on top of it, pushing down on it with his own body weight.

Morpha continued to shriek pitifully, and I could only imagine how much Dark was going to torture it. I craned my head to watch as he began speaking to it in Hylian.

"Morpha, I told you, you couldn't defeat me. I am the Shadow Prince, and I rule over you. You obey me. But with this stunt, you have proven to be a traitor to King Ganon. With that, I banish you from the light realm- and of every other realm. Today, you die."

Dark raised his sword high into the air, pointed straight down at Morpha. Its shrieks increased as he screamed and stabbed the orb. As the sword pierced through, the shrieking finally stopped, and all that was left for noise was the strange water lapping at the edges of the pool.

The water soon began to dissolve away, and Dark and I watched as the pool drained. He looked down into the pool with triumph, swinging his sword high into the air and pointing it straight to the ceiling.

"Today, the Hero of Time shall triumph! And Ganon will be no more!" He laughed crazily, sheathing his sword right after he said that.

I stared at him. Dark was on my side! He was helping me! I couldn't believe it, I was so happy. I began to try and stand, but I remembered my injury and instead I screamed. Dark looked over at me and gasped in horror.

"Hero! Link!"

He ran over to me and crouched next to me, shoving my hands away and applying more pressure to the wound than I could have. The blood continued to flow, and Dark's face was shrouded in concern and worry. He bent over me and looked into my face, and breathed out slowly when he realized I was still alive.

"Link, Hero, where is that potion that you had earlier? Will that help?"

I shook my head, gritting my teeth in an effort to not scream out in pain again.

"No, Dark. That's for minor injuries. This…is too…major."

He continued to look around for anything, but I already knew there was nothing. I didn't have a fairy captured in a bottle like I should have, and I only had half a bottle of red potion left. There wasn't anything Dark could do.

I was doomed.

"Link, I'm getting us out of here. There is a portal in the pool. I'm carrying you there. Try not to scream, okay?"

I nodded and he picked up my gear, putting it away into my magic bag. They shrank into it and Dark tied it around his waist. He picked me up and carefully hoisted me over his shoulder so that he could still move around. I grunted and bit his tunic, gagging myself so I wouldn't scream into his ear.

He climbed down into the pool and began making his way towards the portal. I feebly pointed back at the heart container, remembering that it could restore any health that I lost. Too late, Dark and I were teleported away, and there was no way of us ever getting back into the temple. The entire place would probably collapse from all the tremors.

As we landed at the pedestal at Lake Hylia, I was able to see the damage done to the outside of the temple. The pedestal itself was cracked, along with the bridge leading away from the small island being completely destroyed. The tree that I remembered seeing on the island had been uprooted and toppled over. Everything was in ruins.

Dark laid me gently on the ground and began tearing bits of fabric off of his tunic, wrapping my wound. He was speaking to me, but I couldn't hear anything he was saying. It was as if he was in a far off place where I couldn't hear him. Soon, things began to get fuzzy and blurry, and I realized I was beginning to black out. I stretched out my hand towards him, but it was shaky and took too much effort. The last thing I remembered was seeing Dark's face clouded with worry, and his hands stained crimson red from my blood.

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**Again, sorry for the slow updating! I've updated and cleaned up my profile so its a bit more, idk, "professional looking" *I don't know what to call it really...***  
**In the next chapter we'll hopefully get to finally see Link and Dark's feeling emerge...*hint hint***

**Hope you all enjoy the summer :D**


	5. Chapter 5: The Search

**Sorry about the really long wait for this chapter. No yaoi yet...sorry to disappoint *please don't kill me...* o_O I had some minor writers block for this chapter. It's not my favorite, but I do introduce another major character in this chapter. She might become pretty important in later chapters...kinda just depends where I want this story to go :P**

**I'm going to try and write chapter six much, MUCH faster this time. And if i don't stick to my word, you all have permission to like, just totally destroy my credibility as a writer X.X *gulps***

**Anyways, here's chapter six! Hope you guys like it.**

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No.

No, no no no no!

This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not EVER.

I had just met the Hero, I had just met Link, and he was dying in my arms- because of ME.

What could I do?

I looked around, my worry increasing the longer I waited. The bridge was collapsed, so there was no way to the mainland except if I jumped off the cliff into the depths of the empty lake. But hell, that was idiotic. I would probably break a leg or arm trying to do that…

And wasn't the lake supposed to fill once Morpha was defeated?

Things were looking incredibly bleak for the both of us, and I was absolutely clueless as to what to do. I had no idea how the lay of the land was past the horizon of Lake Hylia. I had never seen it or heard of it before, except from Link while we were in the temple. The stories he told were amazing, but I knew that the world was in complete disarray because of my master.

Ganondorf.

I called him by his true form, Ganon, or King Ganon. But after what he just tried pulling with the entire temple collapsing in on us, to hell was I going to call Ganondorf any of that. He was and is the pure King of Evil, and I wasn't about to continue following him. I had made that pretty clear in the temple.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had to find help. And fast.

I looked helplessly at the body of Link. The bleeding had stopped as I had applied pressure, but it was still a huge bloody mess. I shivered. It was a horrible thing to look at, that horrible nasty wound…

I growled. My only friend could be dying at this very instant because of Morpha, because of Ganondorf.

And I was powerless.

Just about anyways.

The wrapping I had done seemed to be holding up, so with a last ditch idea, I stood up and faced the cliff edge of the tiny island. I had no choice really. With the bridge out, I had to jump for it, and hope that there would be something solid for me to land safely on at the bottom. Whether or not there was I didn't want to waste time and figuring out. It was either now or never.

And I picked now.

With a triumphant cry I took a huge running start and leapt off, quickly falling downwards. I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to know what I was going to land on. Spikes. The jaws of something nasty. The hard rocks. Sharp and pointy…

Instead, I smacked right onto the saddle of Link's horse, Epona. Lucky for me, the horse had been standing at the entrance to the temple for some time. The horse neighed and started, making a mad dash for the beach at the edge of the mainland. I had landed awkwardly on the saddle, and it took all my strength and effort to try and figure out how to right myself to keep myself from falling helplessly onto the dirt. The fall had hurt like hell, but I didn't die, and I hadn't broken anything.

She continued to canter up the steep lake bed, and I had no idea what I was doing. I grabbed ahold of the strange leather strap and yanked on it hard to see if she would stop.

Instead, my move backfired. The horse dug its hooves into the dirt and reared up, making me fall back off of her and into the dirt. The complete opposite of what I had wanted to happen. The strap left my hands and the horse began to stomp around and snorted angrily, whinnying and neighing loudly. I rolled out of the way before she could stomp on my head. This was Link's prized horse that Ganondorf wanted? Ha. This creature seemed impossible to control and handle.

Of course, I had no idea what I was doing.

I stood up, patting the dirt off of my tunic. I glared at the horse, trying to figure out how to get back up onto it. I didn't have the time to sit here and deal with this stupid beast, and I knew it was definitely faster than running all the ways on foot. I grunted and ran up to the beast, placing my hands on either side of its hindquarters and thrusting myself up into the saddle. I quickly grabbed the strap again before the horse could react and yanked it back enough that it wouldn't go anywhere, but I wouldn't get thrown off again.

The horse ducked its head down and tried bucking me off, but I squeezed my legs to the sides of its abdomen and gripped its mane, waiting until it tired itself out enough to simply sit there panting and snorting. God, this thing was a hassle. Link had said they had a connection and that nobody else could tame her except for Malon, the horse's original owner. She had taught him a song that calmed the horse down enough that they had become good friends.

A song! That's what I needed. But how the hell was I supposed to play a song when I had no instrument?

Just then I remembered something I had picked up as we had ran into Morpha's chamber. An ocarina. I knew what it was because Link had pulled it out multiple times and used it to our advantage in the temple. It had been a lifesaver, really. There were places in the temple I had been to, but I had no way of reaching without his magical little ocarina. That thing was amazing and I needed it right now…

But where the hell did I put it?

While I held onto the strap with one hand, I rummaged around inside of both mine and Link's bags. _Come on, it's gotta be in here somewhere… _I pulled out various different instruments that he had inside of his bag, but none were of any benefit to me at the moment. There was a strange claw like device, various glass bottles, different types of boots… but I couldn't find that damned ocarina. I know I had picked it up off the floor of the temple, so it had to be SOMEWHERE…

My hands finally touched something with various holes located in precise locations along it. The outside was smooth as glass, and there was a long nose piece. With delight I quickly pulled it out of Link's bag and gazed at the blue masterpiece that I held within my hands. The sunlight glinted off of the beautiful blue paint, and I was quite mesmerized by it. I hadn't ever taken the time to really look it over when I had grabbed it, so I guessed now was a better time than any.

I relaxed my grip on the strap and studied the holes and tried remembering the way Link had held it. Was it like this? No, that looked ridiculous. How about this way? No, it was too uncomfortable. Finally I just decided to grab it however I wanted and blew into it.

The noise I created was as sweet as the ripple of the water within the Water Temple. So sweet, so crisp, and so elegant. I hadn't realized how easy it was to play, and so I began experimenting. I held my fingers over various holes and continued to blow into the instrument, quickly creating my own strange tune that sounded like absolutely nothing familiar that Link had ever played. But hey, I was actually figuring this thing out. If only I could figure out the song that he used when he talked about Epona…

I played three notes. Quick and short, but the horse immediately pricked its ears and turned its head back towards me. I gazed back at it with mild curiosity and played the three notes again, slower this time and with a better rhythm. The horse whinnied at me and began to slowly walk up the side of the lake bed to the beach. I laughed happily and continued to play the three notes over and over, getting lost in the sound. I could feel the sweet sun beating down on my back, could feel the breeze blowing my hair around lazily, could feel the fur and hair of Epona beneath me, all while I created sweet delicate music. I was completely entranced with this strange new feeling that was coming upon me. Link quickly forgotten, I began creating my own little tunes with the ocarina, all the while not paying any attention to where Epona was headed. However, I didn't really care. She knew her way around this place better than me, since I'd never even set foot here. She knew where she was going…right?

Soon, the horse stopped and whinnied at me again. I stopped playing and looked around. She had continued past the lake's shores and had walked up to a gate of some sorts blocking our way. I cussed under my breath, looking around for any sign of an alternate route. I hadn't been paying attention to her while we were travelling, and I was paying for it. I turned around in the seat and looked back towards the way we came. Some ways back there, Link was lying unconscious on the grass, his body slowly growing weaker and weaker as time progressed. I had no idea how much time had passed already, but I knew every second mattered. I had to get Epona around this fence crap. And fast.

"By the Goddesses, why does this have to happen…" I was beginning to get worried. My frantic searching revealed only a broken ladder leading up a wall that traveled on for quite a ways. I was too afraid of getting off of Epona and venturing away from familiar territory- especially since I'd never been in the outside world. For my first taste, it didn't seem that bad, but I knew that whatever was out there wasn't friendly…and I wasn't sure if any of Ganondorf's creations and minions would listen to me. They probably didn't even know I existed. The only reason that the stupid things in the Water Temple had listened to me was because they had seen me enough times and knew my status. Out here, though, I was as foreign to these beings as the sun was to my skin.

With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes and began to weigh my options. Epona had stooped her head down to munch on a bit of grass. Link had told me how much horses loved to eat the green stuff, and I wondered for a minute if it tasted as good to me as the horses thought it did. I began to try and slide off of Epona, but before I could, something cracked a twig nearby. She jerked her head up, twitching her ears. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a ghost appear, and it laughed, spinning around Epona. She reared up into the air and darted forward, almost crashing into the fence. I yelled out at her to stop and frantically pulled back on the strap, but she continued forward and leapt over the fence. I gasped as we landed, not expecting to fly through the air over the fence so quickly. I looked back behind us as she galloped away, watching the ghost slowly fade away. _Hey, I can do that…_ I thought, gazing at it as the last traces of it vanished.

I knew there were plenty of ghosts out and about in the field. In the age of the King of Evil, the dead thrived in the light. I hadn't gotten a very good look at the ghost, however, and so I was a little spooked as to what it would look like once I ran into another one. Hardly anything Ganondorf created scared me, but the dead weren't of his evil imagination. They were the remnants of the living, the leftover parts and bits that the land of Hyrule wanted to dispose of. Link had described some of the things as grotesque and rotting, even the ghosts smelling of rotted flesh and stinking of the dead. I hadn't gotten a good wiff, but I shivered to think of what that damned smell was…

Epona continued to canter up the side of the hill, out into a huge field that seemed to go on for miles upon miles. I couldn't really see much into the distance, just a huge mountain towering in the distance. _Damn. Where do I fucking go?_ I scanned the horizon more for any signs of life or any clues, but there was pretty much nothing. The horse seemed to know where she was going, or at least I thought as much, so I simply hung onto the strap loosely and allowed her to continue along her way. I didn't want her to get spooked again and possibly head in the wrong direction, so I kept my sword unsheathed and prepared for whatever might jump out of the shadows again.

It seemed like hours upon hours passed. The sun was high in the sky. There was little shade, and I was REALLY feeling the effects of being out in the sun for too long. I had never been exposed to the sun's rays, so add the fact that it was the hottest time of the day and I felt pretty fucking miserable. I was leaning over onto Epona's neck, panting and wiping away sweat. I was NOT used to this. At all. I almost couldn't stand it anymore. I was about to just grab the damn strap and jerk the horse back around to the lake. Whatever was left of the temple, I could just run back inside and hide in there until it got dark or something. Where it was a bit more fitting and suitable to my tastes. But hell, that would mean putting Link even further away from getting any sort of help…

Damn! I really was in a fucking pickle. I cussed under my breath and picked a branch off from a passing tree and chucked it as hard as I could across the field. The horse pricked its ears towards the noise and lazily looked over. I had long ago sheathed my sword and tried leaning back and crossing my arms, trying to get more comfortable. I wish I knew where I was going. Link would know, he'd traveled this field enough times to know his way around. Epona too, it seemed, but I didn't know yet where she was headed. The more time I spent in this field, the more pissed off I became at the world. Why was I even created? Why had these pathetic light beings allowed Ganondorf access to their throne? Why was I even on a horse in the first place?

Suddenly, the horse stopped and whinnied. I shielded my eyes from the sun and leaned forward a little, looking in the direction of where she had whinnied. There was another Hylian running towards me. I grabbed ahold of the strap and held it firmly in case it was the wrong kind of Hylian. I didn't need to waste time and resources on a useless fight with a stranger. But the closer they got, the more that it seemed like they weren't going to harm me. Instead, it looked like they seemed almost _worried_ about me.

When they got close enough, I realized it was a girl. She had long red hair that billowed gently in the breeze, and bounced almost a little cutely behind her. Her dress was actually pretty cute, too. _Beh, what am I thinking. I'd look ridiculous like that…_ But still. It didn't hurt to just imagine things, did it?

She ran towards me and immediately grabbed ahold of the horse and stroked its nose, whispering quietly to it. I leaned over sideways a little, looking at her curiously. Sure, the horse was totally more important than the person actually riding it. She seemed to notice me after a moment of me staring at her, and she turned to look at me. She gasped.

"You…you look just like…like…Link!" She gaped at me, still with a firm grip on the horse's harness.

I sighed and began to speak. "Yea, I'm kind of like his twin. It's a long story, I can explain later…but, my name's Dark." I held out my hand for her to shake, like Link had told me to do once we got out of the temple and I met people.

She seemed a little scared to grab it, but eventually she did and introduced herself. "My name's Malon. I live in the ranch just a few miles ahead. I saw Epona and I thought Link would be here…" She trailed off.

I shook my head. "No. He's in trouble though. At Lake Hylia. We met in the Water Temple. I helped him out, but the temple collapsed in on us. He's…lying unconscious. I need help. Please…"

She gazed at me a moment before seeming to decide on a course of action. "Okay. I don't trust you, but since Link seems to know you, and you know him, I'll help. Let me ride back to the ranch with you, Epona knows the way. It seems like that was where she was going in the first place."

I slide forward a bit for her to climb up onto the saddle, and with a good kick, she had Epona galloping away. She wrapped her arms around me and held onto me tight. I knew she was just making sure she wasn't going to fall off of the horse, but the feeling felt strange. I didn't like it. It felt strange for her to be grabbing me instead of someone else… The discomfort stayed no matter how I tried to adjust myself. I sighed in annoyance and decided I just had to deal with it. I was getting the help I wanted and needed. I shouldn't complain.

Pretty soon we neared the place she had called a ranch. The surrounding walls were fairly high, and I assumed it was to keep all the things outside from getting in. Epona neared the gate and I pulled back on the strap a bit, slowing the horse down. Before we even got to a complete stop Malon jumped off the back of the horse and held out a hand for the strap. I quickly handed it to her and jumped off as well. I brushed myself off and looked at her, waiting for her to move.

"Dark, I'll have to sneak you in. My father won't appreciate me brining in a stranger… especially one that looks, well, as shady as you." She began to walk forward as she spoke. "And especially in dark times like these."

I nodded in response and kept my head low. I could easily keep to the shadows and not be spotted, and so as soon as she opened the gates I slid over into the darkness. She kept a close eye on me as we walked between the buildings, and I kept a close eye on her as well. I had no idea if she was going to put me into a trap and try to kill me or something crazy. She didn't seem the type to fight, but I'd never come into contact with any other Hylians other than Link. She could probably be some amazing champion fighter and I didn't even know it.

We neared a door and Malon wrapped the strap around a thick pole sticking out of the ground and tugged it tight. The horse whinnied at her and she quieted it with a few pats on the head and a good scratch behind the ears. The horse dipped its head down and began to quietly feed on the grass growing around the pole in little patches. I watched it feed for a moment, again wondering what grass tasted like. I'd have to try some after I got Link some help.

Malon dipped inside of the building and motioned for me to follow. She closed the door quickly behind me and began looking around for supplies.

"So, Dark, you said you were from the Water Temple, correct?" She picked through a box full of strange looking instruments and stuck them into a basket.

I shuffled from foot to foot, a little nervous. "Yes. I've lived there for almost my entire life."

She picked at a few things and inspected them. "I see. And I'm guessing this temple is a part of Link's quest he told me about that he had to accomplish?"

I gulped. "Yea, something like that. We ran into each other and decided it'd be smarter to work together than to try and kill each other."

She laughed, but it wasn't a happy one like how I had felt while I was with Link. "I see. He seems to trust you a lot then. He likes to work alone."

I snorted. "Yea, I noticed. He's not used to having to look out for a second being, is he…"

She seemed to finish grabbing supplies and thrust the last of them into the basket and wrapped it with a blanket. "No. But he's pretty sociable. Here, I'll stop asking questions and we can get going. I have a general idea of where Lake Hylia is, but I heard there was quite a commotion there."

I opened the door for her to walk through. "The temple was collapsing. That's kind of what made our decision to stick together pretty final. I… didn't want to let him die in there. Didn't seem fair."

She turned back to look at me and her gaze seemed to soften. "You seem to be speaking pretty truthfully. I trust you, even though I barely know you." She grabbed Epona and handed me the strap. "Here, take the reins. I'll keep an eye on the basket."

I nodded and mounted, her clambering up behind and grabbing ahold of me again. _So it's called reins then…interesting name for a strap like this. _I guided the horse back around and she kicked its sides, and we were off.

_I hope I'm back in time…_

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**Yup, a cliffhanger. Sorry! Quite a bit of time has passed since Dark left Link at Lake Hylia. I wonder what sort of trouble he's gotten into while Dark's been gone...**

**Again, sorry for the slow updating. I write when i get inspired to, so its kind of just on a whim that i write for like an hour or two.**

**Also, today is my 3 month anniversary with my boyfriend! I really can't believe its already been that long... x3 hehe :3 he's quite the catch xP *sorry to brag, i can't help it :3***


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting Death

**I'm so, so, sooooo sorry for the late update! :( I got a horrible bout of writers block the first week, and it took so much effort for me to think up of what was going to happen in this chapter. However, I had a lot of fun writing it! The PoV switches between Link and Dark, so I'll insert where those changes are... otherwise, enjoy!**

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***Link's PoV***

I groaned and rolled over onto my side, gripping my stomach tightly in pain. I clenched my teeth together in pain and tried pushing myself up. _Have to move, have to get up, I don't know why, I just have to move…_

I slowly blinked open my eyes and pushed myself up onto my elbows, looking around. The sun was blazing down onto Lake Hylia, with no sight of Dark anywhere. I moved my head around in every direction that I possibly could to see where he had gone. Everything was blurry and hazy, and I quickly gave up and slowly eased myself back down onto the grass. Feeling the sun beating down on my face, I lifted my free arm up over it to shield myself from the sun. I lay there for a while, unmoving. I was breathing heavily, even though I wasn't exerting any energy at all.

_Need help, need to move…_ I clenched my teeth together and lifted myself up off the ground onto my hands and knees. I screamed out in pain, quickly gripping my side and almost falling over in the process. I slowly began to remember everything that had happened. Dark and I had been fighting Morpha, and I had gotten injured in the process. He had saved me, but he apparently had run off. I looked down at my injury and realized that it was wrapped and bandaged pretty well. Dark must have done it before he took off. But why would he take the time to bandage me if he was just going to leave me here to die?

_Goddesses, this makes no sense, why…_ I couldn't form any thoughts. Even if I managed to formulate any questions, there would never be answers. I just had to figure out what to do now that I was conscious. I stayed sitting on my hands and knees for a while, willing my body to cooperate with me once I tried to stand. I couldn't just sit here and wait to die. I had to get up and actually move, try to find where to go and what to do next.

I slowly crawled over to the tree, or what was left of it, and slumped up against it, resting my back on it and groaning for the longest time. This damned injury was taking a huge toll on my body, and even just that small crawl had sapped away all of the energy I was going to use to try and stand. _Life is such a bitch… _I thought. I huffed and tilted my head back to gaze into the clouds. Things weren't as fuzzy and hazy as they had been when I tried looking around earlier, maybe because I was finally getting a grip on my surroundings. However, that small crawl had made me incredibly tired. My eyes were already beginning to droop, and it was hard to try and keep them open.

_I guess I can just sleep a little more…_ I let my eyelids close, and my conscious was quickly slipped away into a hazy dreamland of me running around Hyrule slaying Ganondorf's minions and saving all of Hyrule, with Dark by my side. I smiled a little at the thought, and my dream world engulfed me into it.

_Guess I can just wait until tomorrow…_

** *Dark's PoV***

"How much farther?"

I grunted back at the woman who had decided to come along and help Link. She had been asking me so many questions since we left, and it was beginning to irritate me. I was about to just shove her off of this damned horse, steal the basket, and take off without any thought for her. However, I didn't really want to succumb to my meaner, darker side, so I was tolerating her the best I could.

For now.

She sighed and laid her head back down on my back, and began to hum the same tune that I had been playing on Link's ocarina. The horse responded incredibly well to her humming, allowing me complete control of the reins in order to guide Epona back to Lake Hylia. I had actually gotten over Epona's hostility towards me as well. She seemed to finally be comfortable with me, which amazed me. The song really did help a ton.

Epona had kept up a steady pace the whole way, galloping along at a rate that no mere human could possibly ever accomplish. I was impressed with the creature. Horses really were useful, and I bent my free hand down to pat her neck. The horse didn't reply, but it snorted a little, as if to say thanks. I smiled. Not much seemed to make me smile except maybe Link and the stories he told of Hyrule in its better days. I took the time to relax a little and gaze around at the rolling expanse of hills and the crystal clear blue sky, dotted with fluffy white puffs. Link had told me these were clouds, and they looked super soft. I imagined trying to grab and touch one and feeling it. I contemplated whether it would be as soft as Epona's mane, or possibly even softer than that. The thought intrigued me, but when I had asked Link if you could touch the clouds, he had laughed and said they were too far away for anybody to ever try and feel them. I wondered if someone _had _ever tried to grab them before, and quietly mused whether or not they had succeeded or failed miserably, much like my attempt to try some grass earlier.

Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn't realized that Epona was beginning to slow her speed. I blinked a couple times and looked around. We were back at the gate, the ladder still broken. It was as if this entire part of Hyrule had been abandoned. The weeds were overgrown all around the tall brick posts and wall, and a good amount of bushes had sprouted as well. I could even see the beginnings of trees, tiny saplings amongst the thick overgrowth of grass and weeds. I gazed at my surroundings for a bit, wondering how to get Epona to jump over the gate again like she had before. She had gotten spooked by the ghost, but I didn't want to spook her again. It could cause her to run in a completely different direction than what I had in mind.

Malon popped her head up around my shoulder and grabbed the reins from me. She began backing Epona up, allowing some space between us and the gate. Then with a good kick to the horse's sides, Malon easily guided Epona up and over the gate much more gracefully than when we had overcome the obstacle earlier. As we landed, I gained a bit of appreciation for running into Malon. She wasn't so bad. She was pretty useful, actually. But still, I couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't belong behind me on Epona's back.

It belonged to someone else.

Epona continued to canter along effortlessly, and Malon handed the reins back to me. I accepted them and turned my head a bit to face her.

"Thanks for trusting me. I wouldn't have been able to get over that obstacle a second time."

She laughed, and I smirked a little. "No problem. I'm here to help Link."

Hearing her laugh in a joyful way brightened my spirits. It seemed laughter was like medicine to my ears, easing away all of my bad and dark thoughts and opening my eyes and ears to something better. A joyful side of the world. A colorful side, where it wasn't basked in hues of black, grey, and blue. It was full of greens and reds and yellows, and of purples and pinks and a beautiful white color like Malon's dress. Laughter had been the sweetest thing I had heard since I had been created, and it opened up a world for me to explore that was unlike the Water Temple. The temple was in ruins now, and I would never be able to return home to it.

But why would I want to?

The small time I had spent outside of the temple had given my life new definition and meaning. My life goal at the moment was to find someone to help save Link's life, and I had found that someone. I just had to save Link now… Thinking about the Hero made me worry a bit. Was the Hero okay? Had he woken up and moved around, or was he still unconscious? Was he dead? Was he alive? I had no idea of knowing, I just had to keep moving.

I kicked Epona's sides harder and the horse sped up her pace. Malon quickly grabbed me tightly around the waist again. Back to the usual position that we had been in for a while. I sighed. When would I ever be able to ditch her? I had just been thankful for her to come along, but this grabbing me stuff was beginning to drive me insane. She was like a leech from the Water Temple, and those things were nasty and insanely annoying. Every time you got in the water those things would latch onto you like you were their one true love they lost so long ago. Pretty annoying…

Malon gasped.

"Dark, what is _THAT!?"_

** *Link's PoV***

A strange gurgling noise woke me up.

I jerked my head up stiffly and looked all around. My wound wasn't throbbing as badly as it had been, and I was incredibly grateful. I wasn't sure how much more pain I was going to be able to take. However, it seemed like my nice, long, deep sleep had regained a lot of my lost energy. I felt like I could try and move around some more, and so I braced my hands against the tree trunk and slowly lifted myself up into a standing position. I cried out in pain from the effort, but I was at least able to finally stand. I was making some pretty good progress I thought.

That is, until I saw the thing that greeted me.

Standing in front of me was a grotesque creature, a giant mass of darkness shimmering and gurgling in my face. I screamed and stumbled backwards over the fallen trunk, landing painfully on my back and head. Dizzy, I tried to roll over onto my hands and knees to crawl away, but I was at the edge of the island already. The thing was tiny, and there was about nowhere to go. Instead, I opted to huddle up against the trunk as close as I possibly could, hoping the giant mass hadn't noticed me. I could still hear it gurgling and making strange noises behind me, but I couldn't see it. I clutched my abdomen in pain. It seemed like my frantic scrambling to get away had caused my wound to throb again, and I was definitely in no shape to try and fight anything. I closed my eyes shut tight and prayed to the Goddesses that this creature was a figment of my imagination, leftover from my dreamworld.

I was horribly wrong.

When I opened my eyes, the creature was grinning sadistically at me, inches from my face. My jaw dropped in shock and pure terror. I couldn't even emit a sound. This thing was unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life. It was like it was the embodiment of pure horror and darkness. I had never been afraid of anything that I had run into. But this… this was entirely different.

I couldn't even move.

I could feel the creature's breath hot on my face, the stench of death and rotting flesh. It was so putrid that I could have vomited repeatedly for the rest of my life and never get over the stench. It was so horrid I almost wanted to just try and kill myself. It made me not want to live my life any longer. It made me want to kill every living thing I came into contact with, just so that the death of them could try and relieve some of my horrible thoughts and feelings. It made me angry. It made me want to rage at the world, rage at Princess Zelda for sending me on that quest so many years ago, to rage at Malon, to rage at all of the townspeople of Castle Town and Kakariko.

It made me just want to die.

The overwhelming feelings that I was being attacked with consumed me and I cried out. I screamed as loud as I could. I screamed so that all of Hyrule could hear my cry. The agony was more than I could bear, and I just wanted to get out. I just wanted to escape it.

I realized I had closed my eyes, and I opened them.

I stared straight ahead. There was nothing there, just the edge of the island. I gazed into the open air for what seemed like ages, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Some strange creature had come upon me, but hadn't attacked me. Instead, I had been assaulted by emotions and feelings that were so insanely horrible that I had just wanted to scream and commit suicide. The emotions had faded away, but remnants of them lingered. My entire body was shaking, and I was bathed in sweat. My hands were clammy and shook uncontrollably. I tried lifting them up to look at them, but my body wouldn't cooperate with me. Instead, I let them droop down to my sides and leaned back against the trunk once again, staring into the open sky. There were a few big, puffy white clouds, but otherwise the day was nice and warm.

I vacantly wondered about Dark, and where he was at the moment. I wanted to know how he was doing and if he was okay. I wondered if he was wondering about me at the same time that I was wondering about him…

I sighed. The throbbing in my side had dissipated completely. I looked down at my side and slowly undid the wrapping. The tear in my tunic was still there, along with all the blood stains. However, as I pulled the tunic away, I gasped. The gaping hole in my side was completely gone. All that was left was a scar and some natural bruising, but nothing else. No blood, no hole, no anything. I patted around it and looked all over my body, thinking maybe it had moved somehow? But I shook my head and just continued gazing at my healed wound. I had no idea how it had healed over so fast, unless I had blacked out for however long and the wound had healed in the meantime. But as I looked around the lake more, nothing had changed. Everything was still in the same place as it had been when the creature confronted me.

I was completely baffled. Had Dark come back and done some supernatural power? He could read minds and fade away into a shadow that was pretty much invisible, so healing wounds incredibly fast seemed like a pretty easy feat. But thinking back, Dark hadn't healed me in the temple. He also hadn't healed me when we were teleported back to the pedestal of Lake Hylia. Instead, he had wrapped my wound and run off, probably searching for something to heal my wound, or to explore while my wound healed. I wouldn't put it past him to want to explore, after all the things I told him while we were travelling in the temple. But still, it didn't make sense that he would wait so long to heal me magically if he really could heal me in the blink of an eye.

I just couldn't comprehend anything that had happened to me in the past twenty-four hours. It seemed insane and crazy to think that I had defeated Morpha with the help of Dark, and been severely injured and that the entire temple had collapsed. That hadn't happened when I had defeated Ganondorf's Puppet and Volvagia, so why had it happened with Morpha? I put my hands to my head and rubbed it severely, trying to get some sense into my brain. I guessed I just needed another bout of sleep to clear my head…

But I wasn't tired at all, and I had a boundless amount of energy, despite the strange occurrence with the giant shadow beast. I tested out my body's reflexes, and decided that I could try and stand. I slowly heaved myself up from the trunk, bracing myself against any pain. However, it was only a mild sting, much less severe than before. I was able to successfully stand fully upright without having to scream out in pain. Finally being able to stand in peace, without some demon staring at me, I looked around and sized up my options. The bridge was out, so I couldn't cross back to the mainland. I felt around for my magic pouch, but it was nowhere to be seen. Just then, I remembered that Dark had picked up all of my items before running into the chamber to fight Morpha. I had essentially no weapons or items on me, except for my shield and sword, which were tossed over to the side a little ways away from me. I walked over and picked them up, lifting the sword hilt over my head and securing it around my torso, while I strapped my shield onto the back of it. The feeling of having my gear back made me feel even more energized. I felt like I was ready to tackle anything that came in my way.

I walked over to the edge of the island and peered over to see if mine and Dark's efforts in the Water Temple had paid off somewhat. However, only a tiny pool formed around the mouth of the Water Temple entrance, exactly as it had been when I had arrived. Disappointment flooded through me as I gazed out across Lake Hylia in wonder. I hadn't been the one to slay Morpha; Dark had taken it upon himself to kill Morpha. Was that why the lake wasn't filling like it should have? Was it because the Hero of Time was meant to slay the demons of the temples, and nobody else could? Those thoughts worried me as I continued to gaze down at the tiny pool, wondering how on earth I was going to get off of this island. I had nowhere to go, I didn't have my hookshot to get me across the lake, and I didn't have any of my magic that the Great Fairies had granted me.

I backed away and sighed, scratching the back of my head. This was looking bleaker than I thought. I hadn't even seen Epona down around the lake bed, which led me to believing that Dark had possibly taken her when he left. Epona was an incredibly loyal horse who always stayed wherever I left her last, and could hear my call from miles upon miles away. We had a special connection that was linked through song, and that bond was as strong as ever. If I had my ocarina on me, I would have played the song to get her to return to me. But alas, I didn't have my magic pouch, and that was where I kept my ocarina. _I should really start keeping it in a pocket…_

Right now would be a great time for Dark to be able to read my mind, but I mused that he was probably too far away to hear any of my thoughts. He had only ever read them while we were close together, which lead me to believe that it was a special talent that had severe limitations. I sighed. I really needed his help right now, because I'm sure there was some special shadowy talent he had that would enable us to both escape from Lake Hylia and this abandoned island. And to get me away from that creepy shadowy being that I had confronted…

I began to pace back and forth, and in the distance I heard a muffed whinny of a horse. I jerked my head around and gazed in the direction that it had come from. Far off in the distance, I saw a tiny tan blob, carrying two passengers upon its back- a dark figure that almost looked black, and a girl that resembled Malon, my friend who had given me Epona to care for.

I ran to the edge of the island and waved my arms frantically back and forth, shouting as loud as I could. I could safely drop down from the island if they were here, but before my very eyes, the shadowy being from before appeared directly in front of them. To my horror, Epona reared and Malon fell off of the back of Epona. She screamed, and the blob soon enveloped all three of them. I continued to hear the screams of Malon and the cries of Epona as the blob engulfed them completely. However, out of the corner of my eye, Dark burst through the shadows and fell down the steep lake bed. It looked like he had taken a few blows, and his sword was drawn. It seemed like he had tried to fight off the being, with no avail. It also seemed like he wasn't affected at all by the creature. This confused me a bit, but then again, he was an entity made from darkness. Perhaps that's why the being couldn't affect him.

He was a being of shadows, not light.

***Dark's PoV***

Epona reared up, and Malon continued to scream as I shouted back at her to hang onto me. I had no idea what this shadowy blob was, and it certainly seemed to be a form of pure evil. The thing stank, worse than anything I had ever smelled. However, it didn't faze me. I had seen all of Ganondorf's creations, and this seemed just like the thing that he would create to come after me for disobeying him. However, it seemed a little off. It didn't seem to care about me as much as it cared about Malon and Epona. Malon was going almost insane, screaming at the top of her lungs and writhing on the ground in agony. Epona was almost worse, the horse running around in a tight circle tossing her head back and forth, up and down and neighing and snorting. I couldn't control her anymore, and so I jumped off, unsheathing my sword and growling menacingly at the blob. It turned its attention to me, and with a small smirk, it flung me out of the shadows and sent me tumbling down Lake Hylia's lake bed. I rolled down it a little ways, not being able to catch myself. As I came to a stop, I coughed like crazy and looked up to notice that Link was standing at the edge of the island, staring at the shadow. His jaw was dropped in horror and his face was a ghostly pale color. Whatever this blobbly shadowy thing was, it seemed to spark fear and horror into the hearts of light beings.

As for me, I was almost immune.

I struggled to stand and glared back at the shadow. A growl rose up in my throat and I clenched my teeth together. This thing was pissing me off, mainly because it had gotten in my way of saving Link. He seemed to be fine, which was weird, but seeing him standing there had alleviated my worries. However, this shadow was a new horror for not only me and Link, but Epona and Malon as well. They were still screaming, and I knew I couldn't attack this thing on my own. Instead, I opted to run over to the island and see if I could catch Link if he dropped down, like Epona had caught me. I ran over and splashed into the shallow pool of water, avoiding where it dropped off into the entrance for the Water Temple. I threw my sword to the side, disregarding trying to sheathe it, and looked up at Link.

He was still staring at the shadow, but when he saw me splashing over to the island, he had immediately dropped down onto all fours and looked at me, his face creased with worry and terror. That poor innocent face, I couldn't stand seeing Link look like that. My only friend was scared out of his mind, and I just wanted to jump up there and do something to make him feel better. An overwhelming feeling of protectiveness surged through me, and I began formulating my plan in my head. Link and I would attack the shadow together, just like we had with Morpha, and rescue Epona and Malon. I was amazed that they were still holding on and hadn't blacked out or something from the amount of screaming they were doing. I held out my arms and told Link one command:

"Jump."

He looked at me doubtfully, and then looked back up at the commotion. I growled, and he jumped a little, looking back at me with concern.

"I don't know if you'll be able to hold me…"

"Trust me Link, I can. Just jump. And if you don't land exactly safely, we'll fall into the pool."

With that tiny bit of reassurance, he stood and closed his eyes, preparing to jump. Just then, the shadow began to shift away from Malon and Epona, and came straight for Link. Epona and Malon were lying on the ground, knocked out. I screamed at Link to jump again, and he leapt off the island. He fell straight into my arms, but the force knocked me off my feet and fell onto my back pretty hard. The breath was knocked out of me, but besides that my body was easily able to take his weight. Link gasped. The shadow was hovering around us now, a giant smirk alight on its face. Link crawled off of me. He stared at the shadow in defiance now instead of fear, and it seemed like he wanted some sort of revenge. I didn't know what for, but I wasn't about to question his newfound courage. He held the triforce of courage, after all. I grabbed my sword which was a few feet away from me and stared at the shadow as well, baring my teeth and growling at it like a dog would at its prey. I wanted to make sure that this shadow knew who it was dealing with.

The Shadow Prince and the Hero of Time.

It laughed at our mock show of courage and a face finally appeared to us. Before, only a mouth or nothing would be visible. But now, as we both stared it down, it finally revealed its true form. It began to shapeshift into a physical being, and Link gasped again at the sight.

The thing itself was a Reaper, a being of the dead. It was probably the most gruesome Reaper I had ever seen, and the fact that it could shapeshift was something new. Rotting flesh hung off its bones like they were banners on display, and the bones themselves were yellowed and chipped. It wore a tattered robe that hung from its bones, and it seemed like it had some sort of definition and volume to it, which lead me to believe that it indeed had some sort of body underneath. However, I wasn't in the mood to find out what it was. My only goal was to find out its purpose for being here and what it wanted with the light beings, and Link.

It gazed at me coolly, its piercing red eyes glittering curiosity and hatred. I growled even louder than I had been, showing my fangs. It laughed again, and turned its gaze to Link. He became incredibly stiff and rigid, his entire body stuck in some sort of paralysis. But still, he showed complete defiance and gritted his teeth together. His beautiful crystal blue eyes dug daggers into the Reaper's form, and it chuckled again. The thing seemed to find our stance of defiance too amusing for my tastes. I stepped forward and began to ask questions.

"Who are you, Reaper, and what do you want with the Hero of Time?" I stood there, stiff as a statue, waiting for the Reaper to respond, if it could even talk.

The Reaper pulled back its hood and I almost had to look away. Half of the skull was showing, along with flesh and dried blood caking other parts of its face. It was missing its entire bottom jaw, and I cussed under my breath. No sense in asking questions now. It couldn't even talk, only laugh. But it seemed like it wanted to communicate with us, and it hissed in annoyance. I laughed and began to taunt it.

"Ha, it seems you can't even talk. You're missing half of your body, and you seem like you're looking for revenge of some sort. But why come after the Hero of Time for your revenge, may I wonder… You are a foolish Reaper, and you should go back to the underworld, where you belong. The land of light is no such place for such a being, and you are only causing more trouble for yourself. Flee. And leave this place."

The Reaper laughed even louder at my statement, and I shrugged my shoulders. Link had looked away, and he was vomiting profusely. My heart ached for him. He probably felt like shit because of this bastard. I wanted to change that. Nobody deserved to be in Link's position simply because of destiny and some quest that he had to accomplish. I turned my gaze to the Reaper and swiftly stuck out my sword into its body. All I felt was bone as I tried piercing it, and it looked down in surprise at my attack. I pulled my sword out, and there was absolutely nothing on it. The thing was too rotted away for me to even try and weaken it. I raged and tackled the Reaper to the ground, trying to crush the bones. It cried out in surprise, probably not expecting me to be able to resist its horror. It had absolutely no way of resisting me, and I laughed in sheer joy. This was what I was meant to do.

To kill.

I grabbed its skull and began twisting and pulling on it as hard as I could. The Reaper screamed, and I could hear the many souls of the dead crying out in pain. But I didn't care. I was feeding off of the sound, and my blood pumped through my body, boiling with such an intense desire to hear the screaming that I pulled even harder on its head. Its screeches filled the air, and I quickly stole a glance over to Link. He was staring at me like I was a monster. But I was saving his life from this stupid bastard who had probably scarred him for life. So I wasn't about to stop. I wanted revenge. Revenge for Link, and for Epona and Malon, his friends. This Reaper deserved nothing else.

I could feel bones breaking beneath me from my weight, and the stench of death was all over me. I relished in it. It felt invigorating and I felt energized, even more than when I was shrouded in darkness. This was what I was created from. It felt amazing and I laughed and cried out in pleasure, crushing every bit of its body so that it would never be able to haunt and stalk the light beings any longer.

However, it shapeshifted.

I slumped over onto the ground as it faded away into a giant mass of shadow, and it hissed in hatred at me. I turned my blood red eyes onto it and hissed and growled back at it, my fingers digging into the soft earth where it had just been. A few bones had been left behind from my frantic attempts at killing it, and it screamed and faded away in a blink of an eye. There was nothing left of it, just the bones that littered the ground and the feeling of death clinging to me like glue. I was panting and sweating profusely, and I turned my head around to look at Link.

He had cowered up against the island wall as close as he could, and was hiding behind his shield. Pity flooded through me at the sight. He seemed terrified of me now after watching the type of monster that I could have become if he had egged me on in the Room of Illusions. I quickly skimmed through his thoughts and a giant pang of guilt flooded through me. His thoughts bounced around between elation that the creature was gone to the same sentence mumbled over and over again in his mind:

_Dark is a monster._

I slowly crawled over to him, all thoughts of Epona and Malon forgotten. They would be okay, they weren't dead. The being could do nothing but torture and corrupt. They would wake up in no time. However, the damage done to Link was more severe than I could have imagined. His would was healed, but it seemed bruised and scarred still. The Reaper must have done something to him while he was on the island. I read his thoughts again, and I was right. He had run into the Reaper before in its shadow form before we had arrived at the lake, and he was both emotionally and mentally scarred from the event. I wanted nothing more than to grab him and hold him in my arms in a comforting gesture, sort of like how Malon had grabbed me when we first saw the shadow.

I made my way over next to him and sat down, carefully pulling away the shield. I winced as I saw him sniff and try to crawl away, but I latched onto him and pulled him into my lap and hugged him. The overwhelming feelings that were assaulting me were even stronger than before, and I stayed like that for a long while. I could feel Link's body slowly relax to my touch, and he turned around to look at me.

"Dark…"

I closed my eyes and waiting for him to continue speaking. Time seemed to pass slowly, the seconds elongated into minutes and the minutes into hours. I opened my eyes and saw tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"That was Death, wasn't it?"

I was stunned a little, but what he said made sense. Ganondorf even feared Death; he had told me that it was a shapeshifter, and it frequently haunted and stalked light beings now that he had turned the world into darkness. He hadn't told me its true form was a Reaper, but maybe that was because he had never come into contact with Death. It seemed I had been the first creature to ever show any sort of defiance against Death, and the first to ever try and attack it.

I nodded slowly, and he clung to me like a leech. I held him like that for a while as he sorted through his jumbling thoughts. I read a few and smirked at one: _Goddesses he STINKS…_ But I didn't let him know I was reading his thoughts, like I had in the Water Temple before I realized that I could do it. It was incredibly easy to do on accident, so I had practiced with Malon while we were travelling. Her thoughts were more random and boring than Link's were, so it was easy to forget about them. But sorting through all of Link's thoughts was interesting and opened up a world that I didn't know existed. In his mind, I learned about almost everything of Hyrule, and about him as well. As I indulged myself in his thoughts, I found myself falling even more for my emotions and feelings for him. It was addicting.

Link looked into my face, and smiled a little. I looked back at him and hugged him again.

"I'm so glad you're okay Link. I brought Malon for help, but…" I trailed off.

He shrugged. "I think they'll be okay. And I am too, if you didn't notice."

He pointed to the spot where his wound had been, and I smirked at him. "I did notice actually. And I'm glad it's healed for the most part. I wouldn't have known what to do with all those things Malon grabbed back at the ranch."

He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, she knows a lot about medical things, believe it or not. She secretly kind of studies it, because if she didn't a lot of the animals would have succumbed to sickness and died."

I smiled. "I'm glad she did. And I'm glad I came back in time to find you. I was getting really worried about you."

He looked at me in wonder. "You were? I was wondering about you, too, and where you even ran off to, leaving me behind like that…"

Guilt pricked at me. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even done that…"

Link waved his hand away. "No big deal, honestly. I mean, look at me, I'm fine aren't I?"

"Yea, but still. It was stupid. Even if I was trying to find someone to help us."

"Nah, Dark. I'm actually glad you went and found Malon. It means you care a lot more about me than I even thought."

I grinned. It was probably the biggest grin I had ever felt sprawl across my face. I hugged Link tight to my chest, never wanting to let him go. In all honesty, I was terrified at the thought of losing him. When we first met I had set my mind on killing him; now my mind was set on saving his life and keeping him alive. He was the only person to ever really care about me, and I wasn't about to let his life succumb to death. He looked back and grinned back at me, and I found it adorable.

So I acted upon my feelings and kissed him then and there, right on the lips.

It took Link by surprise and he froze, unmoving. After a few seconds I pulled back, not really sure how to react. I had just kissed Link, someone I had literally just met and my first and only friend. What would he even think about that? We barely knew each other…

"Dark…you kissed me?" He looked at me in utter confusion.

I shrugged. "It felt like it was right."

He looked at me for a few moments and smiled. "It felt right to me too."

I gave him another kiss, this one a little bit longer. It felt so right, even when it felt wrong at the same time too. I didn't know what was really wrong about it, because I didn't know how this kissing/love stuff worked. But kissing Link felt like it was the best thing I had ever done in my life, even over trying to kill Death. It made me feel like peace settled across my heart, mind, and soul, just from placing my lips on his. I felt so elated and tingly all over.

Link pulled back this time, and he gave me a sheepish grin. "Maybe we should go help Malon and Epona now…"

I chuckled. "Yes, maybe we should."

I stood up and stretched, and helped Link up off his feet. As we walked back up the lake bed to Malon and Epona, I couldn't help but think about how amazing all of this was. The outside world was fascinating and full of so many things that I had never experienced in my life. Riding a horse, travelling under the sun, meeting new people, kissing Link… it was just as amazing as how Link had described everything back in the temple.

I couldn't wait for what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

**So, what did you all think of that? I was so stumped on how I was going to get Dark and Link to kiss... but I did it! :D  
Hope you all aren't too mad at me for not keeping my promise on updating faster D:**

**Also, I liked the idea of adding my own character like Death. A symbolic character, not really a physical character that really affects the story like a lead character does. He will play a decent sized role throughout the story however, so keep a lookout for him! And I hope I didn't make him too terribly gross sounding o_O...**


	7. Chapter 7: The Sun and Moon

**I wrote this entire chapter in the course of one night... I had the inspiration to write a cute, short fluffy chapter about Link and Dark. Doesn't have much affect on the story much, except to just solidify that Link and Dark are becoming more attracted to each other :P**

**Hope you all enjoy my little filler chapter!**

* * *

Time passes so quickly.

You don't seem to notice it at all. But I've noticed. I notice the changes in the atmosphere as more of Ganondorf's minions are slayed. I notice the changes in the people around me as their freedom is slowly given back to them. I notice the way Epona seems to get more spring in her step and more energy as time goes on. I notice the way Dark carries himself, before with a sense of doubt and uncertainty, now with a proud sense of vigor and life. The longer I look at him, the more that bubbly feeling disrupts me. It's not a bad feeling at all. But it seems wrong in some ways. And it has just gotten stronger the longer we are together.

Before, we were enemies. Then we became friends. And quickly after that, we became almost something more. It wasn't a boyfriend type of relationship, but it wasn't just a friend type of relationship either. It was sort of in between. I kinda liked that. It wasn't serious, but it was still enough to spark interest in both of our hearts. We hid it, of course. Malon didn't need to know anything about it; she was one of my best and closest friends, and I didn't want to soil her attitude towards me as a person. I also didn't want to destroy my reputation. Link, the chosen Hero of the Goddesses, slowly falling in love with a demon of shadow? The very Shadow Prince himself?

It was insanity.

And yet…

I loved it.

I felt crazy at the same time. We were both destined to kill one another and yet we did the exact opposite. We stuck together and became allies. Inseparable. We had been travelling together now for a month almost, but it seemed like just days still. Time flies as fast as a Keese, as Dark put it. And indeed it does.

After our kiss at Lake Hylia, Dark and I had rescued Malon and Epona and travelled back to Lon Lon Ranch. Epona was the first to wake, and as spooked as she was, she managed to take all three of us back to the ranch. She was exhausted by the end. She fell asleep in the stable, and we waited for Malon to wake up as well. I had taken the time to show Dark around the ranch, knowing that her father was probably away running errands at that time. He had marveled at the horses and cows grazing in the field, and continuously pestered me about the color of the cows and their big odd blotches. I had simply told him that was the way they were always made, but he insisted that it was for a reason. I shrugged my shoulders and told him that he was crazy thinking the colors of an animal meant something more than just for the appearance. I laughed when he protested that he wasn't as crazy as I thought he was.

When Malon finally woke up, we explained to her what had happened after she fell off of Epona. She seemed distant and almost a little listless as we explained the entire story, but after we finished she let out a long sigh and told us she needed time alone to herself to rest. Dark huffed and immediately walked out, probably off to watch the horses and cows again. I stayed behind thou, worrying over her. I continuously asked if she was sure she was going to be alright by herself, and if she needed anything. She shooed me out, complaining that I worried too much about her, and that she could take care of herself perfectly fine. After all, she was an expert with medicine.

As I walked outside of the ranch house, the sun was setting, and Dark was gazing at it in awe. He had climbed atop of a box sitting beside the stable to see it better above the pasture fence. I walked over and leaned up against it, watching it with him. His face was almost priceless- jaw dropped, eyes glued firmly to the scene, entire body frozen and stiff, not wanting to move an inch and possibly miss something. It was as if he was witnessing the most amazing spectacle of his life. Which, in all reality, he probably was. For the moment.

He hadn't noticed me yet, so I gently tapped the box with my knuckles a few times. He jumped and looked down at me with a scowl on his face, but when he realized it was just me, his expression softened a bit. He scooted over on the box some and patted the space next to him.

"Room for one more, Hero." He smirked as I climbed up next to him and leaned back against the stable, enjoying the view from this height.

The sky was painted in beautiful hues of red, yellow, and orange, and behind us, a deep dark blue. It was a beautiful sight, and as many sunrises had passed in my lifetime, not once had I taken the chance to sit outside with someone and watch it. I had always been preoccupied with things, either trying to appease Mido, or running around trying to save Hyrule with Princess Zelda. My whole life had been one huge daunting task, and for me to try and take it all on without so much as a break was insanity. This sunset was just the break I needed, too. I leaned my head back against the stone and sighed for a long time, allowing my thoughts to drift away into a very peaceful world, much different from the one I lived in now. When I was still just a child, running around with the Kokiri every day, when I didn't have those awful nightmares…

Dark poked me in the side, and I propped one eye open to look at him. He pointed at the sun, and I noticed it was lower in the sky than before. I smiled at him, knowing he was probably going nuts over this.

"Is the sun supposed to fall behind Hyrule like that?" He continued to gaze at the sun intently, his eyes unwavering.

"Yea, it does it every day. There are two parts of a day: daytime, when the sun shines high in the sky, and nighttime, when the moon shines. Night is when most people and beings sleep, except for the dead and all that good stuff we've run into lately…" I yawned a bit.

He gasped a little at the concept and became absorbed by the beauty of the sunset once more. After a few moments passed again, and the sun was almost swallowed by the horizon, he looked at me again.

"So now that the sun is down, the moon will come up? Does it look the same, or does it have its own features?" He looked all around, seeing if he could find it. Before I could even respond, he gasped again and pointed up. "I found it!"

I rolled my eyes around till I could see the moon. The sun had finally shrunk down beneath the horizon, and the sky was quickly turning from a deep blue to a shade of black, and the stars were beginning to come out. The moon shined as bright as ever, and lucky for Dark, his first moon sighting was of a full moon. It lit the sky up almost as bright as the sun, and the entirety of the land around us was bathed in a beautiful silver glow. The stars were quickly popping up all around, and Dark had his neck craned back, spinning it all around to get a glimpse of everything. He had the biggest grin on his face that I'd ever seen, even maybe over us kissing at the lake.

Just maybe.

He laughed a bit and looked back at me, beaming. "It's so… beautiful, Link. You live in this every day? You get to witness this happening? It must be amazing… living out here, in the light…"

I took the moment to really grasp what he was saying. This feat of nature truly was amazing, and yet so many of us take it for granted every day. Dark had lived his whole life under Ganondorf's rule and inside of a dark temple that never got touched by light, so no wonder he was so taken with the sun and moon. Everything about Hyrule fascinated Dark like none other, and it was quite amusing to watch him explore the world for the first time, almost like a newborn child.

I didn't respond, and he continued looking at me with awe. "Come on, Link. You can't just take all of this for granted? Unless I suppose it gets boring after a while…"

"I guess to some people it's boring. But you truly appreciate it for what it's worth Dark. And I think that's nice that the sun and moon finally have an audience for once."

He sighed as he continued gazing all around. "That's too sad. So much beauty, and yet nobody to really appreciate it." He leaned back against the stable wall, our arms and shoulders touching. The feeling almost burned a little, the coldness of his body meeting with the warmth that seeped through mine. It was like two opposites colliding. Like fire and ice, like night and day. Like darkness and light. And yet it felt like an energizing spark, one that rushed through my body and ignited so many thoughts and feelings from just that little touch.

"You enjoy that feeling too, huh?" He had probed into my thoughts without me knowing again. However, I didn't mind it this time. I smiled. "Yea, it is a nice feeling. Like a little spark."

Dark nodded. "It feels nice since it's a lot cooler now. Your body is so warm, it's refreshing."

I shivered a bit. "And yours is a bit cold, oddly enough."

He grimaced a bit. "Sorry Link. I can move?" He began to move away, but I quickly shook my head.

"No, I like it. It's okay." I smiled at him so he knew I was being sincere.

He seemed to doubt me a bit, but he sighed and situated himself again. "Just making sure."

Time passed. The moon continued to rise higher in the sky, and I was dozing off a bit. It was so refreshing being out here. I hadn't ever fallen asleep under the coolness of the night, especially when there was a full moon. I could feel a bit of drool beginning to form in the side of my mouth, so I lifted up my head and tried to wake myself up before I drooled all over the place. I looked beside me at Dark and realized I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He was staring straight ahead, watching the horses and cows sleep and graze peacefully in the moonlight. He looked so happy and peaceful sitting here. I didn't want to take him away. Maybe he could stay here with Malon, so that way he could learn more about the animals and learn about how to take care of things and himself now that he was out in the real world. It would be safer that way, right?

However, the other half of me wanted to cling to Dark and take him with me on my quest. He was a formidable fighter and had proved just as much with Morpha and Death. He had rescued me when he could have left me to die, and had even cared enough to take off into the unknown to try and save my life. He was an incredible asset and I felt like leaving him behind would be almost shameful.

Noticing I was awake, he turned to me and smiled. "I liked you sleeping on my shoulder. It felt really nice."

I shrugged a bit and yawned. "You were there, might as well use what I have to rest my head." I laid my head back down, watching the animals with him. The night was cool, but not cold enough to want to rush inside and cover up in blankets, much like I had done many of the other nights when I needed shelter and came here. I kind of wanted to sleep outside for once, even if it was a little dangerous and out of the ordinary.

Dark began to hum. I recognized it as Epona's Song, and I smiled a bit. He must have learned it on my ocarina to get Epona to the ranch. Now, it was his favorite thing to hum, and he never got tired of it. He added his own little beat to it to make it his own unique tune, and continued to hum it. I closed my eyes and let the sound carry into my ears and fill my head with sweet visions of what peace after Ganondorf's defeat would be like… parties all over Hyrule and celebrations like none other. He was a very good hummer, and he had perfect pitch and rhythm. He was like his own personal instrument, never needing anything else to play a song but his sweet, gentle humming.

I snuggled up a bit more with Dark simply for warmth and tried falling asleep again. His humming continued, and I felt the coolness of his body seep into mine. It wasn't the same as anyone else's body, but it was still incredibly comforting and refreshing. I drifted away into a peaceful slumber, sitting atop of a box in Lon Lon Ranch, my head resting atop of Dark's shoulder as he hummed a lullaby.

It was the best sleep I had gotten for a long, long time.

I watched as Link's head drooped onto my shoulder again, and his body relaxed. He fell asleep again, and I didn't mind it at all. He was cute sleeping here, and it was nice that he had joined me to watch the sun and moon. He hadn't told me if the event had a name, but I guess since I hadn't asked, he wasn't going to tell me. I was probably the first person he had met who had ever asked the questions that I was asking, so he wasn't really used to answering them. I kept humming my little tune, the one I had learned on the ocarina. It was a beautiful tune, and it fit the night nicely. I was enjoying being a pillow for Link, and it was peaceful watching the animals graze and sleep. The light world didn't seem very bad when there weren't many of Ganondorf's minions crawling around trying to attack us. Instead, it was wonderful and amazing.

Just like Link was.

I didn't care much if it was wrong in the light being's society or not. I really cared about Link, and despite him wanting to keep our kiss a secret from Malon, I knew more would follow. I could tell he shared the same feelings as I did. He made it obvious with his little blushes, even when he didn't realize he was blushing at all. It was cute in a way. I didn't want to seem feminine, but when it came to thinking about Link, my mind went pretty haywire. A switch seemed to flip with him around, and I became a slightly different person. Not to impress Link at all; he didn't really need impressing. But to fit in with him better, to mold more to the type of person he was. Already, a lot of his flaws were melting away in my eyes. Since that time in the temple when I had realized I was more thankful to Link for my creation than I was to that pig of a king called Ganondorf, I knew I was going to be with him for a long, long time. He was my first and only friend, and that kiss seemed to almost seal our fate together, whatever that may be. But I wasn't concerned or scared. No matter where that kiss would take us, I knew it would be for the better.

I sighed. All of the animals were finally asleep, so it wasn't much amusement anymore to watch animals stand in one place and snore. Link was breathing heavily, but he wasn't snoring like the horses and cows were, which I was relieved about. I didn't know if I could take snoring from him or not… But watching him sleep was the next best thing to watching the sun and moon dance in the sky. I had decided to call it the Sun and Moon's Dance, because it seemed like they were performing some sort of ritual in the sky, and most rituals were made from dances. At least, in the shadow world that's how it was. Link moved a bit, and I looked down at him. His hat had fallen off and was flopped next to him, and his hair was all over his face. I took the hand that was further away from him and brushed the hair out of his face, so I could see him better. His lids were closed, and I could see his eyes flickering back and forth underneath them, lost in a dream. I smiled a bit and bent my head down to kiss him again. I didn't kiss his lips, just his forehead, in a gesture that was meant for him and him alone. His warmth made me feel happy and tingly inside, and that was what had spurred me to kiss him.

I laid my head atop of his and closed my eyes, humming my song again. The tune was slower this time, and as I drifted into sleep, images of me and Link popped into my head. Running around saving Hyrule, a showdown with Ganondorf, and afterwards, a party with Malon and Epona, and possibly all of Hyrule attending. Princess Zelda was smiling at the two of us as we held hands, the two Heroes of Hyrule. Despite the Goddesses claiming there was only one, I knew the truth.

There were two Heroes. Link, and myself. I had decided I wanted to redeem myself to the Goddesses and to Hyrule, and show them that I was capable of being a Hero, too. Link was my role model, and I wanted to live up to his expectations, whatever they may be.

But for now, I slept with Link beside me, cuddled up, sleeping in the cool night air of Malon's ranch, waiting for the time when the Sun and Moon would dance again.

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**Not much on the side of action or plot, but I thought it was fitting that Dark and Link would have a moment watching the sunset... fitting for a first date, no? :P**

**I'm glad I finally updated faster than usual... I hate my horrible procrastinating :\ Sorry to all of you who follow me! I hope you weren't disappointed with this little chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Nighttime Antics

**Hey! I'm soooo sorry for taking FOREVER to update. ;_; My sincerest apologies... I've been so busy with marching band and school lately and juggling time to spend with my friends and boyfriend...  
Well, you probably know how that all goes, since it is the schoolyear...**

**However! Here it finally is. I hope I don't disappoint anybody. No action yet, more of just Dark being Dark and getting into a bit of trouble... (He's such a troublemaker, Dark is...)**

**I hope I can update again within my 2 week mark, and if not, hopefully a month. I don't want to take as much time writing my next chapter as this one took. Hopefully it won't, since marching band season is quickly coming to a close in a month or so.  
Wish me luck!**

**Also, reviews are greatly appreciated... but to be honest, I look at views more than I do reviews!  
~Enjoy~**

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I gazed around at the world around me, and breathed in the sweet scent of the morning air. Once Link and I had fallen asleep outside, we hadn't cared to go back in. It wasn't a cold night, and even when I got a bit chilled, I had Link's warm body beside me, breathing warmth and life into my cold body. The night had energized me like nothing else. Even after I had fallen asleep, I had only slept fitfully, my body yearning to bask in the gloomy night. The moonlight bathed everything in a silver glow, only distorted by a few scattering of wispy clouds as they scurried past, heading off into the distance. Few animals were awake at this time; however, I did notice a few strange creatures I had yet to see, since I had never experienced the nocturnal side of Hyrule. There were strange birds which seemed to coo at me from a distance, its eyes fixated on me, unblinking. I stared back at it, it's very large and round yellow eyes gazing as my own crimson red eyes stared back. It was as if I was fixed in a sort of trance. In one smooth movement, the bird took off from its perch, swiftly and silently. It startled me a bit given no warning. As it flew away, I watched as it swooped to the ground and scooped something up with its talons. It continued on without stopping, off into the night.

I was urged to wake Link and prod him for the name of this very intriguing specimen, but as I turned my head towards his I realized he was completely zoned out, fast asleep on my shoulder still. He looked too sweet and peaceful to awaken, and I decided I would bother him with questions in the morning. I was too intrigued by the sights, scents and sounds of the night anyways to really bother with asking a long string of questions for a long period of time. I turned my head back towards the moonlight pasture. All of the horses and cows were either grazing or asleep, some lying upon the ground while others were standing wide eyed and awake. That was like me and Link at the moment; there was me, being the horses that were impatiently waiting the next morning, and there was Link, the cows who were too lazy and sleepy to bother with pondering such thoughts. I twiddled my fingers and played with Link's hair, lazily making curls in it. Was there a place for such feelings between us? This thought had been pricking at my mind ever since we first kissed at Lake Hylia. The sensations of the moment had been the best I had ever felt, yet in the aftermath it had felt slightly wrong almost. These questions continuously swirled within my thoughts, constantly popping up when my mind wasn't preoccupied with something else.

Link made a slight grunting noise and shifted his weight some without even waking. He repositioned himself and fell back into a deep slumber. I chuckled a bit to myself. No doubt he was dreaming. He was a tad restless whenever he slept, and I could see from this distance his eyes flickering underneath his eyelids, never once stopping, constantly moving. I wish I could sleep like that. Since I had disbanded from Ganondorf, my thoughts had been much more soothing and not as constricting and frightening and painful as when I was still in alliance with him. However, I was still afraid of falling asleep. That feeling, I knew, would never go away, no matter how long I was with Link and no matter how much he soothed me and eased away the pain. Besides, I was still incredibly restless and felt too much energy from the night. I was a shadow, after all, the King of Shadows in fact. The night gave me a boundless amount of energy that seemed to almost surge throughout my entire body, making me almost want to leap up onto my feet and explore every nook and cranny around Malon's ranch.

Malon! I just remembered her. I wondered if she was alright. Link and I had left her alone in her room to sleep, but I knew Link had voiced his concerns about her when we had met back up again outside. He had said she was a little spooked still and seemed not quite herself, but I knew that Death hadn't done much harm to them. His initial intention was never to harm; it was only to cause fear. That was what he had done to Link, and that was what he had done to Malon and Epona. However, Death had no effect on me. Death is, and always will be, everybody's mortal enemy. For me, however, Death was, quite literally, my worst enemy. He was my rival, and he coveted my crown. Death was always King in his realm, but since I had been whisked into existence Death's role had changed. He wasn't the crowning king of the dead or of the shadows or of the damned; I had been given that role since I had been created. For years, he had deteriorated into less than even a rotted body; he was literally falling apart. Death was losing his grip on his role.

And that's where I came in. I hadn't known this before when Death appeared by our sides at the lake, but since then throughout the night I had pondered the thought and had come to a conclusion: I was meant to take Death's place. Ganondorf wasn't as stupid as he seemed at times. He had used Link and Zelda as stepping stones to do his dirty work to get into the Sacred Realm; Link had described his life before finding me in the Water Temple. He had been smart enough to simply let Link and Zelda lead him into the Sacred Realm by having Link get all of the Sacred Stones that opened the Door of Time. Ganondorf was far from stupid. He was allowed Zelda to run around, possibly either in hiding or in disguise, even though he knew exactly where she was. It was all a part of his overall plan for securing his place on the throne of Hyrule.

Death was one of the important factors in the balance of life. However, by creating me and deeming me the King of Shadows, Ganondorf in essence was eradicating Death's role in the balance of life. By doing so, Ganondorf could succeed in living forever and claim the crown of Hyrule for eternity. My job in being created was to kill the Hero of Time in order for Hyrule's savior to be stopped from reclaiming the Sacred Realm with the Master Sword. But I didn't want that. I wanted to thrive on my own and live my own life, away from evil and away from Ganondorf's torture. I had thought my life before had significant meaning. But over time, and especially when I had finally run into Link, I realized that my life was only a small stepping stone for Ganondorf achieving supreme power. Defying Ganondorf was the next step to reclaiming the world of light and handing it back over to the people who really deserved it. I was the swing vote for the world of Hyrule.

Mulling that over, I took a big gulp and nervously chuckled to myself. I leaned my head back against the side of the building and closed my eyes tight, my head turned upward towards the sky. When I opened them again, I was gazing up into the stars and clouds, with the moon shining brightly overhead. The scene was as peaceful as it was beautiful. It calmed me a bit. Not everywhere in Hyrule was Ganondorf's rule showing its colors. Here at the ranch, for example, peace and happiness still radiated from every living thing and person. Malon was a glowing young woman, and the horses and cows were content with their lives. If I had really killed Link, the very people and creatures that had helped me would be dead. Malon and Epona would be dead, and it was because of them that both me and Link were still alive and sitting here tonight, sleeping together. I sighed again, this time much longer and a bit louder. My sigh must have reached Link's ears, because he stirred. His eyelids fluttered for a few moments before turning his head towards mine. I smiled down at him.

"Good morning sunshine."

He grunted. "It hardly is sunshiny when it's still the middle of the night." He grunted as he shifted his bodyweight off of me and into a more comfortable sitting position.

I grinned. "Well the moon definitely can create some beautiful light."

He rolled his eyes up towards the moon. "Yes, it can. Is that why you're still awake?"

I gazed out towards the pasture. "Partly. Mostly because I can't seem to get to rest when in the darkness. It gives me energy. Almost too much."

Link gazed at me perplexed. "Intriguing…" he murmured, before sighing and laying his head back onto my shoulder.

I absentmindedly began playing with his hair. It was so incredibly soft, much different from my own pitch black dark hair that was coarse and not very pleasant to the touch. Link and I were almost complete opposites in small aspects like that, especially tiny physical things, such as the shape of our pointed ears, mine being a bit sharper than his. I also noticed that he didn't have any fangs. I slipped my tongue over the pointed tips of my canines and almost shivered to remember the things I knew I could do with teeth like these. Memories flooded into my mind of the years before Link ever stepped foot into the Room of Illusions. At the time, I was a completely different person. I shied away from the visions. I didn't feel like reminiscing on days gone by that I was for sure I wanted to try and forget, especially before I really ever began to try and open up completely to Link. He was my only friend. I had to let him know things at some point.

Just not right now.

I kept running my fingers through his golden hair, and I noticed once again that he had fallen asleep. He was adorable and I loved it… Every moment being with him made me even surer that I wanted to be a part of something even bigger than myself. Defying Ganondorf was the first step; the next was to continue to help Link and aiding him with anything he needed. Helping him out with the Water Temple was simple, because I knew my way around the entire damned thing. However, out here in the real world, reality struck me like a knife driven into flesh. I felt like a helpless child being left behind in an unfamiliar area without the aid of siblings or a guardian. I would have to learn fast if I ever planned on helping Link with the one thing that had finally gotten to me…

Link rolled over off of me and snored quite loudly, mumbling something about me getting off of him. I snorted while trying to contain a bout of laughter at his sleepy comment. No doubt Link was dreaming about something he truly shouldn't. I shook my head as I smirked and jumped off of the box we had been perched upon, making almost no sound as I landed. I decided since I was too restless for my own good that I should exert some form of energy. I looked around and began walking in a random direction, taking note of everything that was around me. It looked so much different out here than it when it was the day. Everything was laced with a hint of shadow, something that excited my very being more than anything else that I had come into contact with. That, and maybe the horses' fascination with eating grass…

I nimbly leapt onto the pasture fence and straddled it, settling myself in such a way that I was balanced on it much in the same way that I had ridden Epona. I wrapped my hands around the thick wood and dug my fingernails into it, feeling the way that the wood splintered and penetrated into my hands. Little did Link know, I could easily heal myself from minor injuries, things like cuts and scrapes and splinters such as the ones I was getting now. However, the pain didn't faze me. I was used to the pain by now, and so I continued pressing into the wood. Once I felt satisfied, I removed my hands. The impressions I had left in the wood resembled my palms, perfectly molded forever more. I gave a quick glance at my hands, and watched as blood trickled down them. I watched as the skin slowly began to heal over, the blood clotting faster than the average Hylian. I always enjoyed watching this tiny miracle be performed whenever I injured myself. It was mind boggling. How could something fix itself in such a way at such a quick pace? I knew it was all a part of Ganondorf's design for me; any small cuts and scrapes during any sort of battle (specifically the one that was supposed to happen between me and Link) would be healed over quickly before my body had a chance to be weakened. In essence, any small attack that Link would have tried doing against me would have been practically pointless.

This also caused me to experiment with inflicting pain to see just how much my body could take. While I was trapped still within the Room of Illusions, I would oftentimes find rocks and rip branches off of the tree in the center of the room and stab myself with them, and would count the amount of time it took for my body to heal over. Once, I had stabbed myself badly enough that I had almost passed out from a lack of blood. A stab of that degree would have killed someone like Link or Malon. Over just a single day, the blood had clotted and my blood vessels began to mold back together. In three days, the wound had gone from a deep gash to a mild looking scrape. And by the fifth and final day, the entire wound was gone and only some mild bruising was left behind. Of course, I still had the scars; those would be there no matter what my body was able to do. I used to take much pride in them, pretending they were my battle scars. Nowadays they were just empty reminders of how simple and unpleasant my life had been like before all of this happened.

The last few splinters of wood fell out of my hands and I clenched them together tightly, relishing in the tingling feeling that always accompanied the healing process. It was almost like hitting your funny bone in just that right spot that it throbbed for a long while afterwards, only it was a bit more pleasant. Gladly, no scars accompanied the feeling, and I tilted my head back and sighed loudly into the night. The cool night breeze felt amazing on my skin, and I cherished the feeling of complete bliss I felt out here. Ganondorf wasn't around to watch my every move. I decided that I might as well make the most of the alone time I had.

But what on earth was I to do with all this boundless energy? It wasn't like I could just go around jumping and making so much noise; that would wake up Link and Malon. I shuffled about a bit on the fence, feeling that the wood was actually quite uncomfortable. I leapt off and ducked into a roll, pushing myself forward with my hands and immediately standing back up afterwards. It was one of my favorite moves that I had perfected while I was in the temple. There were so many tiny little things I had done in that seven year span that seemed almost pointless to have perfected, yet it seemed like they were coming in handy now that I was finally out of the place. This roll had come in handy while Link and I were traversing the temple, and adjusting myself to the pain of my exceptionally quick healing helped with ignoring unimportant pains, such as stubbing a toe or jamming a finger. I decided it was time to try out something else I should probably be trying to perfect:

Riding a horse.

Yes, I had ridden Epona across the expanse of Hyrule. But it hadn't been very comfortable at all. My behind had been so sore for so long afterwards that I had almost snapped at Link when he said he wanted to stay behind and look after Malon, instead of heading off towards Kakariko Village. His reasoning was pretty simple though: if you wanna keep travelling, you'll have to endure more butt pain. And I honestly wasn't looking forward to that. But if I practiced riding a horse while I was still here at the ranch, where there were plenty to choose from, then it probably wouldn't hurt as much to travel.

I scurried through the gate and into the moonlight clearing, the cows bunched up nearer the front side of the enclosure. The horses, on the other hand, were scattered about, some snoozing, others stamping their feet and shaking their heads once in a while. They all seemed quite docile enough, and if Epona was harder to handle than a typical horse was, then these should be a piece of cake to tame. I cautiously stepped around the cows, not knowing how they would react to some stranger intruding upon their space, and ran the rest of the way towards the horses. My move backfired however, as all of the horses pricked up their heads and scattered in a flurry of dust. I slowed down and glared at them as they slowed down nearer the back of the pasture and congregated together in a small little huddle. If this was how things were going to go the entire time, then I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere.

I quickly realized, after many runs of trial and error, that I honestly had no idea how to appropriately approach a horse. I had simply fallen on top of Epona and she had taken off, and the second time I had mounted the horse was with Malon helping. I didn't know how to get the horse to come to me calmly and allow me up. Trying to corner them wasn't working for obvious reasons, and neither was sneaking up on them. I was becoming a bit flustered. I had been chasing these things around all night, and the cows had gotten aroused from their sleep and seemed quite irritable with my running around their pasture all night. More than once did I bump into some of them and have them ram into me and try to knock me off my feet; being incredibly skilled and agile, however, had its advantages, and the cumbersome beasts didn't have much of an effect on me. The horses seemed to becoming more and more irate with me, but I kept up my antics. I HAD to find a way to ride these things so I could show Link that I could handle the ride to Kakariko that we would undoubtedly have tomorrow morning once he was awake and Malon was alright.

Back and forth all over the place, hopping over fences when the cows chased me, throwing rocks at them to keep them from charging at me in one big mass… I knew I was making a giant mess. And quite the mess it was. I eventually took off through the gate of the pasture and made a mad dash for the boxes where Link was still asleep. His eyes blinked open and once he saw my frantic expression he gave me a surprised look and peered around me into the distance. The amount of noise the horses and cows were making was becoming almost unbearable, and it was obvious Link was wondering what on earth I had been doing all night with my boundless amount of energy. After staring at the horses galloping about the pasture and tossing their heads, and the cows mooing constantly and stamping their feet in a very unhappy manner, he turned his head to mine and began questioning me.

"Dark, did you do this?" His sky blue eyes gazed deep into mine, wanting my honest answer.

"No. I don't know why they are like that."

"Yes you do. Don't play a joke on me."

"I really don't…"

"Are you sure on that? You wanna make that your final answer?"

I scuffled my feet a bit. "Maybe."

He sighed and shook his head, laughing a bit. "Oh, what on earth am I supposed to say to Malon when she gets up? What do you want me to tell her?"

I shrugged my shoulders and eyeballed the horses. Their ears were flattened to the backs of their heads, their hooves stomping into the ground. It was obvious they were incredibly upset. I sighed and decided to tell him the truth.

"I ran into the pasture wanting to learn how to ride a horse properly… but, ya know, that happened…" I gave him a sheepish grin, hoping he would forgive my antics quickly.

He scooted off of the box and began walking towards the pasture. "Well, we can start by trying to calm them all down and get them inside the barn." He began corralling the horses together, walking steadily and carefully and cooing at them with gentle words. The horses seemed to at first want to run away as they had been all night with me, but instead they quickly calmed and followed his guide. He did the same with the cows and I stood back a ways, hopping in every now and then when a cow would decide to try and wander away. In no time at all, all of the animals were corralled together and were calmer than ever, the majority of them sleeping inside the comfort of the warm barn with its sweet scent. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it sounded like, but it smelled delicious and filled me with a sort of warmth that I hadn't ever experienced before. Maybe Link would understand what this feeling is, if I could find the words to even describe it.

We had settled ourselves on top of a bit of the straw that littered the stalls. There were a few empty ones, and we had gathered a good pile and shoved it all into one, making a soft and smelly bed. Link was sprawled out across it, the straw getting caught in his hair and clothes. He didn't even mind; he was slowly falling back asleep, yet again. It seemed like a common thread for the Hero to be incredibly tired even with a decent amount of sleep. As for myself, I was still adjusting to it. It was soft, yet prickly at the same time, and I wasn't too sure I would find it as comfortable to lie on as he did. The constant pricking on my skin made it impossible for me to settle down, and I continuously fidgeted. Link was still awake through all of this; he never said a word, but I felt like I was being a burden on him since he wanted to sleep so badly. I kept itching and scratching the places where the straw poked my skin, and I kept messing with my hair, trying to pat out all of the straw. Link continued to calmly stare ahead at the ceiling, lost in thought. Eventually I gave up and sat there, an annoyed huff emitting from my lips. He looked over at me and smirked a bit.

"What?" I gave him annoyed glance, throwing a tuft of straw at his face. He batted it away.

"Just the fact that you're having troubles getting comfortable on something so soft as hay."

I snorted. "Hardly soft. It's more just squishy and prickly rather than soft. I don't know what these horses and cows think about it, but I think it's horrendous."

Link yawned. "They really like it. It's one of the best things we can offer them as bedding to sleep in."

I could tell he was talking to me as if I was young boy, asking all of these simple and easy to answer questions all the time and receiving simple, easy to understand answers. I didn't want to feel that way, but it was the way things were. I just didn't really know anything about life outside the temple, and this minor detail was a part of it. Suffering with sleep because you can't get comfortable on some straw. What a pitiful thing to be asking about and bothering Link about…

I sat there for a while longer, pulling at stray strands of straw and twirling them around, tying them into little knots or throwing them across the barn floor. Meanwhile, Link's attention continuously shifted between staring into space and watching me be frustrated. I didn't know what to do really; I still had too much energy to really sleep, and the straw didn't help matters. As time slowly ticked by, I became more and more frustrated with not being able to sleep. It was easy to sleep in the Water Temple; I had gotten used to sleeping there for seven long years, the soft sand of the tiny island in the center being the only known dry bit of land that was big enough for me to sleep on. It was such a different texture than whatever this junk was.

So annoying.

I threw more straw over at Link at an attempt to alleviate my growing temper. Link carelessly batted it away and smirked at me, slowly picking up a strand of his own. He sat there and inspected it for a bit. I didn't really understand why he was giving a piece of straw so much scrutiny. Didn't make much logical sense to me, and so I quickly turned my back to him. As soon as I did so, I felt a very feint bump hit the back of my neck. I whirled around to glare right at Link, who had quite an innocent look on his face. The piece of straw was missing.

"So you wanna play that kind of game, eh?" I said, scooping a handful of straw into the palm of my hand.

He shrugged his shoulders up in mock surrender. "Hey, you've been doing it to me. Seems only fair-"

Before he even finished his sentence, I flung the entire wad at his face. His mouth was wide open, and bits of it found its way inside. He sat there for a few moments, sputtering and spitting out the straw and shaking his head, trying to rid of it. I sat back triumphantly and grinned deviously at him, enjoying my tiny victory. He glared at me.

"What was that for!?"

I laughed a bit. "You asked for it. You asked for war."

He rolled his eyes and picked up his own wad of straw. "And I suppose since its war, I can retaliate?"

I nodded. "Of course."

He chucked the wad, but before it ever reached me, I dissolved myself into the shadows, out of his sight. A long string of cussing flew out of his mouth, and I laughed some more. I accidentally was able to probe into his thoughts since I was in my more natural state of being a shadow, but nothing really struck me as something deemed important to ever know. Maybe later, but not now. I slithered my way through the confines of what little space I had as a shadow; despite being practically invisible, being a shadow had its major downfalls. It's about impossible to maneuver around, which was one reason I rarely took upon this form; it was purely for when I felt I really needed it. Which, I guess in this mock "war", it was a necessity for me winning over the precious Hero.

As he was looking around the area where I had vanished into, he completely forgot to check his rear. I morphed back into my human state behind his back and sat there for a minute, trying to decide what I should do. Should I poke him and fall back into the shadows, or attack him and tackle him flat to the floor like a war prisoner? I decided on the latter.

Silently I crept over him like a predator does with its prey. At the very last minute, he seemed to notice a shadowy presence, and just as he turned his head towards me I grabbed him and tackled him into the straw. A lot of kicking and punching followed suit; none of it was enough to deal any harm. We wrestled with each other for a bit, trying to see who was the stronger of the two. It was a close match, to be honest; I thought I might lose a few times. However, just like I had assumed from the beginning, I won. I pinned him down onto the floor, sitting on top of his legs and holding down his arms. He struggled to escape my grip for a while, but after a few attempts, he figured it was futile and simply lay there limp as a ragdoll. Another feeling of victory slowly spread its way through my body and made me feel like I was worth a million Rupees. Overtaking the Hero was easy work; I never figured he would put up so little a fight, as he put up a pretty decent one back in the Temple.

"Alright Dark, you won. Now get off so we can both get some proper rest… "

I sat there, unmoving. "But I'm not tired at all. Actually, this gave me even more energy."

He groaned. "How did wrestling like that give you _more _energy?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know. It's just the way I was created. Some physical tasks take away my energy just like any other Hylian; however, other's strengthen me and sharpen my skills."

Link sat there for a few moments, pondering his thoughts. I didn't want to probe into his mind again to see what he was thinking, so I quickly tuned him out and focused on what we would be doing once the sun came up the next day. I was more than excited to watch the sun rise; I had never seen that, either. It probably looked almost exactly the same as when the Sun and Moon danced to create night, just the exact opposite. This excited me more than anything.

I looked down eagerly at Link with this notion. "Can you stay up with me and watch the sun rise?"

"Sure," he grunted, "as long as you promise to let me go and try and rest. We both need it for tomorrow."

I excitedly hopped off of him and began tidying up his make-shift bed of straw before he even had time to say "Thanks." He chuckled a bit at my antics and I blushed a bit. What, I can't do kind things for someone who promised to show me something absolutely amazing? I turned my head away from his gaze so he wouldn't be able to tell I was a little embarrassed. I just wanted to make sure that he would most definitely stay up with me to watch it; that's all. Nothing more…

But despite me thinking that, I couldn't help but feel that all of my little antics since we were in the barn were based more on my strange feelings that entangled themselves inside of me rather than trying to just alleviate my restlessness and return a favor. Since we had kissed at Lake Hylia, things had seemed a little different since when we had first met. All night since my escapade with the horses and cows, I hadn't thought of it. But now that I was having these emotions creep up on me again, my mind was flooded with thoughts and things that I felt I shouldn't be thinking, like they were almost criminal, sinful. As much as I wanted to push them out of my head, they stayed there, creeping back like an annoying pest. I shook my head a bit. I didn't want to be feeling and thinking these things while Link was awake with me. It just didn't feel like the right time.

Once I had finished with the bed of straw, Link had settled himself upon it and fallen asleep for the final time that night. I was still awake; however, I could finally feel the inklings of sleep. I shuffled the straw around a bit more, and flopped down beside Link's warm body. I could feel his breath on my face, and it was comforting. I felt like I was being protected being this close to Link in such a way. I felt whole and free. Ganondorf couldn't reach me here; he might seem like he was omnipresent, but he wasn't all-seeing. He would ever know of the escapades here at the farm; at least, he wouldn't know of the little intimate things that had happened between me and Link.

However, I couldn't help but feel a strange presence watching us from a distance. I couldn't shake the feeling. It wasn't Ganondorf; he had watched me constantly since I was breathed into existence, so I knew what his gazing eye felt like being plastered to my back. No, this feeling was much more sinister and dark. It felt familiar as well. I took a quick gaze around the barn and noticed a dark corner where no living thing was. The wood even seemed to be warping and peeling away from the wall where the dark mass was. And that was when I realized something that was both unnerving and horribly frightening.

Death had been here this entire time. And he wasn't about to leave.

* * *

**Like I said, Death would make yet another appearance. He's a bit of a stalker, Death is... o_o**

**A many thanks to linklover for finally updating her story... I've been dying to read that chapter and it was just amazing. I loved it!**

**Also, as a little bonus, I've been working on a one-shot, one-chapter short story of Dark and his time in the water temple. However, it will be rated M for just being a little gorey. If you like that kind of stuff, you can guarantee that you won't be disappointed. :) I might try and finish that up before I post my 9th chapter.**

**Until next time I update, happy reading!**


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